Infinite Memory
by The-Lady-Isis
Summary: Sequel to Kipling Bunny's Nori 'Infinite Legacy' and dealing with exactly how Superman became involved with Batman's daughter. In the 2110s, decades after Lois has died, Alexa Wayne is determined to get Superman back in the world. Read and find out how.
1. Daydreamer

_**IMPORTANT**_

**A/N: This is the sequel to **_**Infinite Legacy**_**, a fanfic by Kipling Bunny. If you've not read that fic, then this one will make very little sense, and may not be to your taste. If you have, then read on and I hope you enjo - this is supposed to explain the backstory to what's going on in the last chapter :) **

**DaisyJane is my beta-reader on this, and she's been amazing with all her help and tips, so lots of thanks to her!**

_He would be hard to chase but good to catch,_

_And he could change the world with his hands behind his back,_

_You can find him sitting on you doorstep,_

_Waiting for a surprise,_

_And he'll feel like he's been there for hours,_

_And you can tell that he'll be there for life_

_Daydreamer,_

_With eyes that make you melt,_

_He lends his coat for shelter_

_Plus he's there for you when he shouldn't be_

_But he stays all the same, waits for you then sees you through._

Daydreamer—Adele

**Chapter One**

Alexandra Wayne was having a bad day. Her brother Thomas was having a good day. This, in consequence, only made Alexa's day worse. The root cause of Alexa's bad day was one Drew Campbell, and the cherry on the cake was Thomas being named 'Bachelor of the Year' for the sixth time this year alone. That was just eye-roll worthy.

Drew Campbell was a small-time soap star with whom she'd had a brief fling while they both happened to be on vacation in Bora Bora. It had been fun, they'd both had a good time, and miraculously the paparazzi hadn't found out about it. Until they'd been given an all-access backstage pass by Drew himself. Kiss-and-tell didn't cover it—Gotham had woken up to the gossip that Alexa Wayne liked to be in control in the bedroom, at all times, and that her favourite position was –

Alexa gave a disgusted shake of the head at the stack of newspapers lying in the recycling trashcan. It was _mostly _a fabrication. And so what if she liked to be on top? Her mother _was_ an Amazon—Alexa _was_ an Amazon. Not that any of the sleazebags gathered outside the gates of Wayne Manor knew that. Those same sleazebags had followed her out this morning, tracked her all around Gotham, shoved camera lenses in her face and generally blinded her with flashes for the entire day. She could still see dots now. The temptation either to crush the cameras to powder or simply fly away had been almost overwhelming. But the will to protect her family's secret was, regrettably, stronger.

There was a sudden roar of noise from down by the gates. She looked out of the window, her sharp eyesight easily picking out the approach of her brother's Mercedes coupé. He seemed to be slowing down and _stopping_, and then actually talking to them … ugh!

When Thomas entered the house, Alexa was waiting for him. "Why would you talk to them? They're pests, Tommy, barely better than vermin –"

"And my reputation lives and dies by what those 'vermin' think," he returned, going into the kitchen. He pulled a bottle of mineral water out of the fridge and took a long swig from it. "Besides, why do you care? It's not like you were in love with the guy."

"That's because he's a complete _ass_, and what I care about is the fact that, once again, my life is on the front page of every gossip rag in America! I'm pissed off at all of it, Tommy, and it doesn't help that you court those slime balls at every opportunity!"

Since she and her brother had come forward give years ago as the 'official' Wayne heirs—with DNA to prove it—the press had been all over both of them. Their father had been very clear about how to attract attention, and what had worked a hundred years ago still worked now, more or less. But Alexandra, in particular, hated it. If it had been left up to her, she would have lived as a new Wonder Woman, no need for a secret identity and no need for any of these theatrics. Unfortunately, Bruce had been very clear about that too. Gotham needed a Bat. It always would. And Bats operated in darkness, in shadows and secrets. Alexa's argument was that it had Terry. But nothing would change the fact that Terry, like Bruce and now Diana, was aging. Of course for Bruce, it was the second time, but he'd taken the wise precaution of _not_ returning to active duty. He had squandered his first lot of golden years, he said, and he didn't intend to do so again. So Alexa and Thomas had joined their big brother in cleaning up Gotham. And been extraordinarily successful. So much so that Thomas hadn't patrolled in months, and Terry had been able to devote most of his time to the company, and inducting Thomas in how to run it properly. Batwoman now operated mostly alone, but without any detriment to the still-falling crime rate. And she had to admit, it was fun, watching thugs who weighed in excess of two hundred fifty pounds piss themselves when she materialised out of the gloom. It was the flip side of being Batwoman that she did not relish—the vapid, shallow, spoiled, silly little rich girl. Admittedly, she had probably been spoiled as a child, and she was a _very_ rich girl, but she wasn't shallow, she considered herself mostly sensible and she definitely had hidden depths. One didn't spend every summer of their childhood living and training on Themyscira and not gain hidden depths. No one could teach a lesson in humility better than Phillipus.

Thomas' expression softened. "I know you hate it, and I'm sorry. But I don't have an alternate solution, and if you don't either …"

"I know," she nodded shortly. "Those are the rules we play by. I don't know how Dad ever did it."

"Lots and lots of practice. It's not so bad, once you get into the pattern."

"I'm not sure I want to practice, Tommy. It all seems too messy."

"Getting messy is the fun part," he grinned.

Alexa frowned at him, but the twins were interrupted by the ringing of the phone. She picked it up. "Hello?"

Immediately, a hologram of Terry formed, miniature and standing in the palm of Alexa's hand. There would be a miniature of her in Terry's hand on the opposite end. The holophone base unit—a standard communications device in most homes now—was projecting it.

"How are you doing?' her eldest brother asked.

She sighed. "Don't even ask, Terry. I keep thinking there aren't any fresh humiliations left and then they always find new depths to plumb."

"It'll get better, once you have someone. Someone real, I mean."

She smiled at the kind expression on his face. "Well, I'll be on the lookout for my soul mate then. Unlike some people I know …"

Thomas, his mouth full with potato chips, asked, "What? I'm looking for my soul mate too!"

"Yeah, you just happen to be going through as much ass as you can while you're at it!"

Thomas did not rise to the bait—and she had been fishing for an argument—and only winked at her and left the kitchen. She returned her attention to the phone. "Sorry, Terry."

"You seem stressed. There's nothing else going on, is there? Mom and Dad alright?"

It had taken some time (and more with Bruce than with Diana), but for most of Alexa and Thomas' life, both Terry and Matt had referred to their parents as Mom and Dad.

"As far as I know. It's just frustration."

"Want some company on patrol? Or how about I just take over for tonight? Been a while since I had a chance to stretch my legs, as it were."

"Thanks, but I need to punch somebody. I just hope it's not a slow night."

"I don't know," said Terry, looking thoughtful. "Maybe a slow night is exactly what you need. There are other ways to get rid of stress, besides beating the crap out of people. Why not just stay home tonight, relax? Take a bath, watch chick flicks, and get an early night."

Alexa smiled. 'That does sound tempting. Are you sure you don't mind?"

"Not at all. I'll be over at about ten, ok?"

"Sure. See you then."

"Bye."

Terry's image flickered and died, and Alexa closed her hand. A whole evening stretched out in front of her—no parties, no fundraisers, and no patrol … she had no one to please but herself. The prospect of so much liberty was a little daunting. Well, it wasn't quite liberty yet. She still had to fill in the personal evaluation for the logs from last night. Thomas had filled the majority in, as he always did. She went down to the cave to do that, and then spent a little time going through some martial arts exercises. It was not quite as good as sparring against an opponent, but it kept her limber. In the absence of GL or J'onn (virtually the only members of the League who presented her with a challenge), her own imagination would do.

Right on time, at ten p.m., Terry arrived. He looked genuinely quite excited. "Man, it has been so _long _since I've done this!"

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" Alexa asked, now beginning to change her mind. It had been months—more than twelve of them, in fact—since Terry had been out in Gotham.

"Do I look out of shape to you, Lexie?" he asked, ruffling her hair like he had so often when she was a kid.

She pushed his hand away with a peeved expression. "No, you look fine. But you could be rusty –"

"Lexie, I'm not rusty. Stop worrying—you look like her, but you're not Mom."

"Duly noted. Please be careful though."

He went to change, and came back again in the black and red Batman ensemble. "Hey, still fits!"

Alexa snorted. "Do you want me to monitor from the cave?"

"No, I want you to get some sleep, kiddo. Matt knows I'm out here, and Tom also has his com-link on if I need back-up. Now march your butt up those stairs and have some fun. Barda'll be here any minute."

"Barda?" Alex asked, startled.

"Yeah. You can't do chick things without another chick, or so Dana tells me."

She laughed. "Thanks, Terry."

"You're welcome, now git."

She got, and went upstairs to put some popcorn in the microwave. When it was all popped, she poured it into a bowl and opened a bottle of chilled Sauvignon Blanc. Then there was a knock on the door, and Big Barda greeted her with a hug.

She hugged back with a laugh. "Jeez, Barda, you saw me two days ago!"

"I know, but I haven't had a girls night in in longer than I can remember! It is one of the best things I discovered after moving to Earth." She held out a bag to Alexa, and inside were assorted cosmetics. "Look, I got nail polish, face masks, scented candles—and I've got chocolate and cheesecakes too. Not sure if I missed anything, but I figure you'll have whatever I don't."

"Well, I have popcorn and booze, so that'll keep us going for a while. Come in, please."

By eleven, both superheroes were green-faced (the face masks), glasses of wine each, pink fingernails, blue toenails, and were giggling at the movie. It was strange, considering their difference in age, but Barda was Alexa's closest female friend. Whether it was what the press had taught her or her own bad taste in people, she'd found it difficult to make many friends outside of her family. Her sisters-in-law, Mira and Dana, she loved, and her nieces and nephews (not all that much younger than herself) were always fun to be around. There were some League members she liked, of course, but the Waynes were one of the few 'dynasties' in the meta world. Not that she had any snobbery over lineage, it was just that she needed to know who she could trust before she … well, trusted them. Right now though, she had no compunction against completely enjoying herself. Barda was her best friend, and as for trusting people—they had saved each other's lives countless times. She also shared many characteristics with Alexa's Amazon sisters (like having little patience with any of Alexa's bull crap) and getting drunk with someone was always a good way to bond. It took a lot to get either of them that way though (especially when she didn't have any Amazonian wine), so they were already five bottles down, and Alexa was only starting to feel tipsy. A bit more and she'd be drunk though.

The facemasks came off after the allotted half hour, with no noticeable difference. Both women had flawless complexions even before the masks went on. Alexa had just reached for her glass again when the phone rang. When she answered it, Thomas appeared, dressed in a tuxedo and hunched over, speaking quietly. His expression was frantic though.

"Why the hell aren't you wearing your com-link?"

"I'm –"

"Never mind—Terry's in trouble. He contacted me asking for backup and then the line went dead, but I think I heard an explosion. Last known position was by the old stadium. Get out there and find him. I'm coming home."

Alexa sobered instantaneously at this news. "Alright. Let me know if you get anything else."

"I will. Get going, and be careful."

When she put the phone down, Barda looked serious, and completely sober. "What do you need?"

"Go to the Metrotower, make sure the infirmary is ready for Batman—victim of an explosion, we don't know how serious. After that, can you come back to Gotham and help me look if I haven't found him by then? I might need your help."

"Got it."

"Thanks."

Alexa sprinted to the cave, changing her suit in under a minute and slipping her mask on. She was just lifting into the air when Thomas' voice went off in her ear.

"Alexa."

"News?" she demanded, wind whipping through her hair. "I'm en route."

"Don't bother, Terry's safe. Superman saved him."

"_Superman_?"

"I know, I was shocked too—but you better get to the Metrotower. Terry's not in good shape. I'll meet you there."

"Acknowledged."

She ordered a transport to the Metrotower, and then marched to the infirmary with her head full of questions. Was Terry all right? How badly was he hurt? Was there still a chance he could – And Superman? What the hell was Superman doing in Gotham? Although the Man of Steel did tend to come and go, he wasn't a real member of the League anymore, and hadn't been publicly seen for years. He swooped in and saved the day, and then disappeared again. Neither Alexa nor Thomas had ever actually met him, though apparently he had been a guest at her parents' wedding. She knew Terry had worked with him before though, so maybe that was why he'd stuck around this time.

Arriving at the infirmary, she found Terry surrounded by doctors, unconscious and covered in cuts and bruises. A cloth mask still covered his face though—anonymity was as much revered now as it had been in the old days. She felt a jolt of fear for her brother. He'd obviously been badly hurt before, but one could never tell how bad the next one was going to be. And it had turned out like this. _I knew I shouldn't have let him go …_

Standing about six feet from the foot of the bed, arms folded and looking almost as concerned as she felt, was Superman. At least, she assumed it was him—he looked mostly the same as the stock footage she'd seen before, only older. There were a few grey streaks in his hair, fine lines around his blue eyes.

He looked around when she went in, the corner of one black eyebrow flicking up. She nodded. "Superman."

"Batwoman."

She shook his hand briefly—not as hard as she'd expected, but maybe he was holding back—then nodded at Terry. "How is he?"

"Broken ribs, broken wrist and collarbone, fractured skull and some internal bleeding."

She forced herself not to sound horrified. "Any cerebral haemorrhaging?"

"None. The bleeding is because a rib punctured one of his lungs."

"And the explosion?"

"Inque. She escaped," he added, almost apologetically.

She shook her head. "You got him to safety. That –"

The doors hissed open again, and Thomas entered—now there were two Batmen in the infirmary, but this one was looking at Terry too. "Well?" he demanded.

She rattled off what Superman had told her, and then introduced them. The two men greeted each other, Thomas wincing a little bit at the handshake, and then the three of them watched the doctors work on Terry. The twins spoke only once, briefly, Thomas talking in an undertone that only Alexa and Superman picked up.

"When do we call Dana?"

"Not yet. Wait till we have something to tell her."

Another twenty minutes, and the doctors stepped back from Terry, and his siblings rushed forward. He still looked awful, and he was still definitely unconscious. "When will he wake up?" Alexa asked.

"Impossible to say for sure, but he _will _wake up. It could be tonight or it could be tomorrow morning. For now we'll put him in one of the private rooms, and you can take his mask off if you want."

Thomas disappeared to get Dana, and Alexa and Superman went with Terry into the private room. It had no security cameras, and a PIN code locking system on the doors. She gave it to Thomas—Terry's birthday—and then removed the mask. She had prepared herself not to flinch, but even so it was difficult to hold back a gasp. He looked terrible; his nose was definitely broken and his lip was split, and he had two black eyes.

She sighed. "I shouldn't have let him go …"

"Is he not still patrolling regularly?" Superman asked.

"No, not anymore. It hasn't been necessary, especially at his age. Normally I'm out there, but Terry offered tonight. And I agreed against my better instincts."

She pulled the blankets a little more over her brother, and then faced the Kryptonian, taking him in more fully. He wasn't wearing the red and blue that had been his trademark, and there wasn't a cape in sight—instead he was dressed in black and white, silver here and there. It was altogether less _Earth_ and a lot more _Krypton_ than she'd imagined. Maybe that was where he disappeared to, she speculated. Had he been off-planet?

"Not that I'm not eternally grateful you were there, but –"

"What was I doing in Gotham?" he asked with a little smile. "Batman—Bruce—would have demanded to know the same."

Alexa let out a small chuckle, quite aware of her father's less than friendly reputation. "I'm not demanding. If you don't want to tell me, you don't have to."

That got her another raised eyebrow and another small smile. "I came to see Terry. We've worked together in the past and I was curious to see how Gotham was doing. It hadn't occurred to me you and Thomas would be part of it all already. I mean I knew you existed but you're all grown up …"

They were interrupted by the entrance of Thomas and Dana, the latter of whom took one look at her husband and immediately burst into tears. She rushed to Terry's bedside, and held his hand tenderly, kissing it.

"Wh-what happened?"

"It was my fault, Dana," Alexa said. "I let him take over from me tonight. If I hadn't –"

Dana shook her head firmly. "No, it's not your fault. He was looking forward to it … I know he was. Believe it or not he's missed the action. Now what happened?"

"Inque is back, apparently. We're not sure whether she ambushed him or if he disturbed her doing something. Either way she escaped."

"And he'll _definitely _recover?"

"Yes. Superman saved his life."

Normally, Dana might have been awed or nervous about being introduced to possibly the biggest legend of them all, but all she said was a tearful, "Thank you."

He nodded modestly, and Dana turned her attention back to her husband. Alexa approached the bed, gingerly putting her hand on top of Dana's. "He should wake up by tomorrow morning … do you want to stay here?"

Dana wiped her cheeks. "Am I allowed?"

"You're part of the Batclan, Dana, I'm pretty sure you're allowed," Thomas said with a smirk. "Do you want to?"

"I don't think I can leave him."

"Alright. What about the girls, do you want them to come stay over at the manor?"

Terry and Dana's two daughters, Marie and Helen, were sixteen-going-on-seventeen and fifteen, respectively. "They're with Matt at the moment, I think they'll be okay there for tonight. When – When do you think he might be able to come home?"

"Not for a while. Once I've come up with a decent cover story we can have him moved to St Chad's, so at least he'll be in Gotham."

"And how long will that take?" Dana asked.

"Give me two days," Thomas, ever the master of spin, said.

Out of the corner of her eye, Alexa saw Superman move silently to the door, and exit. With a final squeeze of Dana's hand, Batwoman followed. She had something she wanted to suggest. "Superman."

He paused.

"Thank you. I'm the strongest member of the League but we get our asses handed to us more often than I'd like. Terry might be injured but he'd be dead if you hadn't been there." She moved out into the corridor with him. "Do you have time for a coffee before you go?"

"Um, sure," he said with a shrug. The movement made him seem, for a brief moment, a bit more human.

Once they had their coffees and were seated in the commissary, Batwoman embarked on her proposition. "Come back. Come back to the League, and not just as a heavy hitter when we need you. We need you for other reasons too," she stated.

"I don't really …" he started.

"And I think you need us too," she interrupted giving him a steady look while placing her gloved hand on his. "Not just as allies but also as friends. You look lonely, Superman. I don't like seeing loneliness."

She could see the pain flash across his eyes and the smile he gave her, though kind, was also a bit sad. "You're less like your father than I thought you'd be."

"I have two parents," she smirked.

He let out a rusty laugh. "How foolish of me to forget. She'd slap me if she heard our conversation."

"Yeah she would, Superman," Alexa laughed knowing that her mother never liked being underestimated even in regards to her daughter's personality.

"Kal," he said drawing her from her thoughts. "I'll come back, as long as you start calling me Kal. When you get to my age … 'Superman' just sounds pompous."

She smiled. "Nice to meet you, Kal. Call me Alexa."

* * *

**A/N: Review please!**


	2. This is the Life

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews! And thank you to DaisyJane too.**

_Where you gonna go, _

_Where you gonna sleep tonight? _

_And you're singing the songs_

_Thinking this is the life, _

_And you wake up in the morning,_

_And your head feels twice the size_

_Where you gonna go, _

_Where you gonna go,_

_Where you gonna sleep tonight?_

This is the Life—Amy MacDonald

**Chapter Two**

Weeks went by, and Alexa watched him closely. She'd been right when she said they needed him—but even more so when she said he needed them. It was in the way he laughed, mostly. Like he'd forgotten how to. There was genuine joy in it, something she didn't hear very often. She liked it. Older members of the League, like Terry, Barda and Warhawk, were very happy to have him back, and could often be found in the commissary or at the monitoring station, reminiscing about old times.

Alexa knew she spent at least part of everyday thinking about Kal, and the attraction did not take long to show itself.

She'd been looking for an opportunity to spar with him for weeks, as it wasn't often she got to really let loose and not pull her punches. Things had kept getting in the way—the criminal underworld was panicking now that they seriously knew how close to extinction they were in Gotham. They'd launched a full-scale attack on police HQ, apparently deciding that all-out war was the best way to go. It had forced Thomas to join her on her patrols into the city, something he'd not had to do for at least a year. Terry would have been there too, of course, but he hadn't recovered fully from his injuries yet.

Things were going fine before she got a face full of fear toxin. It had been lost for decades, dead along with the former Scarecrow—and then rediscovered just before her mother had reappeared in her father's life. Alexa had come across it before, and had beaten it then, with help from her brothers. But this one was a concentrated dose, with enough potency to attack her metahuman brain.

It was a good time to get it, on the whole—the battle had been won, with a few brave police officers dead, but no more. This was just one random, very lucky attack.

It didn't stop Batwoman going on a rampage.

Alexa dealt with fear like an Amazon; she faced it and tried to beat the crap out of it. She didn't even acknowledge it as fear, so much; it was a need to purge. All she could see was Gotham as she imagined it in the days of her father. When grime and fear and crime ruled the streets, drugs and bodies piled alternately on every corner. And the criminals, laughing like hyenas. It was pure luck she managed not to kill anyone. Finally there was one she came up against who wasn't so easy to defeat. Who gripped her forearms and would _not _let go.

She fought. She kicked and punched and used every move she could remember. Eventually she got away long enough to take to the skies, flying in any random direction.

And then he caught her again.

"Alexa! Alexa, stop fighting me!"

Oh gods, they knew her name. So they must know everything—her parents, Thomas … She turned and swung wildly at the shadow's face. The blow connected, and he was forced to let go while she carried on fleeing. She had to come up with a way to protect her family … but she was so confused. She felt the beginnings of cool air on her face. Started breathing again. Great, whooshing gasps flowing into her lungs, giving her the strength to fly faster, to get away.

"Alexa!"

_Get away, get away, get away … I have to think … must defeat …_

"Alexa!"

_Get away … must defeat y … _Wait. She knew that voice. She knew it. That was a friend, that was –

She slowed, and he caught up to her, grabbing her hands again. Reflexively she yanked them away, but he didn't let go. "Alexa. Calm down. You know me."

She tried, she really did, but there was nothing she could see to recognise. Shadows still hung around her, heavier than any shadow had a right to be. She shook her head. "Can't – Can't see."

She was turned and moved so that she could now see a light. A warm, golden one. Slowly, the shadows faded into double vision, and the light turned out to be a face, the dawn sunlight reflecting from it. And then … silver, to go with the gold, streaks in his hair.

She shook her head again, but this time to clear it. "Kal," she gasped finally.

A look of incredible relief passed over his face. "Oh, thank God. You know me, right?"

She nodded. "What? … that was … How did we get here? And where _is _here?"

They were hovering about three hundred feet over the ocean, no land in sight, in any direction. "About three hundred miles off the east coast, I think. I swear Diana never flew that fast. Or maybe I'm just getting old."

"But – I – I can't remember –"

"Fear gas," he replied. "Thomas called me in after you started tearing up downtown. No one's seriously injured, don't worry," he said hurriedly seeing her worried expression, "but then you took off. I was the only one fast enough to catch you."

"Oh."

He smiled. "Don't worry. No real harm done."

She put a hand up, touched his face, where there was a cut on his cheek, deeply purple bruising forming around it. "You're hurt. How do _you _get hurt?"

"Well …"

She coloured. "I did it, didn't I?"

"You were scared."

"Yeah, but –"

"Seriously, Alexa. It'll heal, in this sunlight probably within five minutes," he laughed. It was a beautiful sound, after what she'd just been through.

At his words she could see that it was already healing, closing up right before her eyes. Impulsively, she hugged him. "Thank you."

He smiled down at her—a sweet, old-fashioned smile that she found completely charming. "Any time."

"Let me buy you a coffee, try and make up for it?"

The smile widened as the last of the worry left his eyes. "I'd like that."

"It'll have to be in a couple of days though. I have a lot of damage to undo, I'm guessing." She put a hand to her ear. "Batwoman to Metrotower."

A nervous voice answered her. "Metrotower here. You back, Batwoman?"

"I am. Teleport myself and Superman to the Metrotower as soon as possible."

"Charging now."

When they arrived on the teleport pad, they were met by Warhawk, Green Lantern, Thomas and Barda, all of them armed and all of them in defensive positions. They all looked reluctant, but determined. Shock filled Alexa. It was no less than what she would have done, but –

Kal stepped slightly in front of her, holding up a hand. "She's lucid, relax."

They all did so, and he stepped back to her side again. "Did I really destroy that much?" Alexa asked.

Thomas nodded. "Couple of blocks. And half the G.C.P.D. building. And there were about half a dozen fires burning."

"Then I have a lot of amends to make. Is the plane here?"

"Yeah. You want to go now?"

Batwoman nodded, and the siblings left together in the Batwing, heading back down to Gotham at a screaming pace. They landed in the street just outside the G.C.P.D building, and immediately found themselves at the pointy end of most of the guns the good officers possessed. Most were aimed at Alexa.

"Hold your fire!" yelled a voice.

From behind the closely clustered ranks of police, the Commissioner emerged. Matt looked relieved to see them, but only Alexa and Thomas recognised that his relief was more personal over his sister than it was over knowing Batwoman wasn't about to continue tearing up his city.

"Batwoman?"

"The fear toxin's dissipated," she assured him. "All I'm here for now is to help. If you require assistance, Commissioner."

He nodded, and she blessed Matt in her heart. He knew how important this city was to her, and he knew how guilty she was feeling over destroying so much of it. "The fires are mostly out, but we're not sure how many people might be buried under the rubble."

"I'm on it."

The biggest thing she seemed to have destroyed—apparently by bodily throwing a bus through it—was a supermarket, at which point the whole roof had collapsed. She took hold of it and lifted it up, flying it over to an empty stretch of the park and setting it gently down. When she went back to the supermarket, she closed her eyes and listened hard. She had nothing like Superman's senses, and certainly no x-ray vision to help, but Artemis had given the gifts of the hunter when she was little girl. She had more than enough audial acuity to hear the cries of trapped people though, so she swooped down where she could hear the first one.

It turned out to be a middle-aged woman, overweight and dumpy, but no trouble for Alexa to lift. "Ma'am, are you hurt? Are any bones broken?"

"I – I think my ankle might be –"

"Alright. Stay still."

There was a heavy piece of concrete lying across the woman's leg, cutting off the blood supply—luckily, as it turned out, since her ankle was broken, and her foot was an angle about ninety degrees from where it should be. From her belt, Alexa pulled out some anaesthetic spray, and applied it liberally before she moved the woman.

"Put your arms around my neck," she said, "and don't let go."

"Wait! Are – Are you sure you can lift me?"

Batwoman didn't smile in public, ever, so she didn't now. Her voice carried complete confidence though. "I'm sure, ma'am."

She carried her to the nearest ambulance and set her down gently, then went back for the next casualty. She worked for the rest of that day and well into the night, helped out by civilians and a few members of the League when they had a chance. By midnight, all the people she could hear were out safely, and she was confident that no one would lose their lives because of her. After that, it was just the removal of rubble. Some of the buildings would have to be demolished, but she wasn't going to risk doing that herself—too dangerous by half. She cleared the roads and sidewalks, then Matt insisted she go home and get some rest. When she eventually got home, it was to find that Thomas had cocoa waiting for her. She didn't even manage to drink all of it before falling asleep.

* * *

It was midday before she opened her eyes again, and at least two p.m. before she was fully awake. It had taken stumbling into a shower and burning her toast three times before full alertness had arrived. Then it was down into the Batcave, where a sample of the fear toxin that had infected her waited for testing, and she had to write logs detailing the events of the last few days.

"Right," she said aloud, "sample first."

As it turned out, worried phone call from her father first. He hid it well behind anger though, and didn't bother with greetings before he launched into her. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"About …?"

"About letting some punk give you a face full of fear gas, Alexandra! And then destroying half the city—I've taught you how to throw it off before –"

"I know, Dad, but it was a concentrated dose, and I couldn't help it! Actually I was just in the middle of running chemical tests on it to see if it _is _the same formula I've beaten before. And yes, I might have destroyed a few buildings, but I didn't seriously hurt anybody, and Kal caught me before –"

"Kal?" her mother's voice asked. A second later, her hologram joined Bruce's. "As in Superman, Kal?"

"Yes. Tommy told you he was back, didn't he?"

"He told us you'd met him—what do you mean he's back?" Bruce asked.

"I mean he's back, a full member of the League again. Has been for weeks now. After he saved Terry's life I suggested he come back, and he agreed."

Diana looked impressed. "Well done, Alexa."

"Did you check it was really him?"

Diana hit her husband on the arm. "Bruce!"

Alexa frowned. "What do you mean, if it's really him?"

"When Terry first met him, he was being controlled by an alien called Starro. Almost took down most of the League under its influence_._"

"How did nobody notice he was being controlled by an alien?"

"Isolation_,_" Bruce said simply. "He lived alone, he operated alone within one city, and while everyone respected him, there were few who really knew him."

"There was at least one who might have noticed, if you'd bothered to keep in touch with old friends," Diana said, a little sharply.

"Or his other old friend might have noticed if she didn't take a forty year vacation to Themyscira," he replied tersely.

"I needed to return home. You know -" Diana began but Alexa interrupted.

"Much as I find your bickering amusing, can we stay on point please?"

They both sighed and moved on, Alexa figured it was an argument they'd already had. Probably countless times. She frowned—the mystery of Superman was deepening. Why would he become so isolated in the first place, and why, after Starro, would he withdraw even _more_? Unless her guess had been right, and he had been among people on other worlds. She didn't think that was the case though; she was sure he had been lonely. Why would he choose to be lonely?

"Alexa, are you quite recovered, darling?" Diana asked warmly, cutting into Alexa's train of thought.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, thanks, _Mitera_. Just tired. I spent most of yesterday and last night clearing up the mess I'd made in Matt's precinct."

"I see. And is Matthew alright? How's Terry getting along?"

She told them, then spent about another hour on the holophone to both, during which Bruce calmed down and let actual concern filter through anger that he'd covered it up with before. He even got as far as, _"When are you next coming down? We miss you, and your brother._"

"Well, I'm free next weekend. Would that be okay?"

"Of course, we'll look forward to seeing you. Let me know the results of the test."

"I will, Dad. See you next week."

Diana blew her a kiss. "Take care, Alexa. We love you."

"Love you, too."

With her parents gone, she returned to her chemical analysis, taking a sample of the toxin and spending the next hour isolating the compounds inside it. Everything matched against the computer's database, except one thing—the active ingredient was a plant extract, taken from a rare plant that grew in the Himalayas and nowhere else. There was nothing strange about finding it in there, except it was in there at ten times the amount any Batman had ever come up against. She felt a little vindicated—and emailed the results to her father with quite a bit of satisfaction.

After that it was writing up what had happened over the last two days, including a detailed account of what damage she had done. When it came to putting down how Kal had snapped her out of it, however, she found her fingers pausing in their flight over the keyboard. Logs were not a place for emotion, only fact—except it had been an emotional rescue. If it was a rescue. She had recognised a friend (an 'ally' she'd call him) and calmed down immediately. And then hugged that friend, and felt incredibly grateful. Why had she hugged him? For that matter, why had he stepped in to defend her just after? Recollecting both instances, Alexa found her heart beating steadily faster, a pleasant shiver racing over her skin.

_Interesting … Probably not something to put in the log though …_

She spoke aloud as she typed. "'Lucidity returned with passage of time and intervention of League ally (Superman). Superman slightly injured by Batwoman.' And how did _that_ happen?" she muttered to herself.

She'd have to ask her mother if she had ever injured Superman before—theoretically it shouldn't have been possible except with Kryptonite, and there had been none of that around. And she didn't wear her mother's magical armour, which might have been able to cut his skin. But obviously she'd been able to do no more damage than that, which indicated he was seriously tough. She _had _been wishing for a decent opponent for as long as she could remember. The idea of sparring with him was exciting to say the least. An actual challenge for once.

Curiosity made her access the information Bruce had collated on Superman, and she read through it quickly. She knew most of it already—home planet destroyed, grew up on a farm in Kansas, raised by humans. A comprehensive list of his powers … of which there were a lot … and vulnerabilities … of which there were not many. Ah, this was interesting, and explained a lot: married to one Lois Lane, a reporter, for twenty-six years. Childless. And her father had added a rare personal note.

_If anything is likely to push Superman into becoming a threat to humanity, it would be the murder or otherwise incapacitation of his wife. This cause has a probability of .98 according to all possible simulations._

Alexa's eyebrows rose. 1 was certainty, and _all possible_ simulations? The only conclusion she could come to was that Superman had been very, very much in love. Lois had died almost fifty years ago, around about the same time that Superman had begun withdrawing from the world in general. Grief. That answered almost everything.

And she still owed him a coffee.

Slipping her com-link in, she opened a secure channel. "Batwoman to Superman."

There was a slight pause of static, then, "Superman here."

"You free for that coffee?"

"Uh, sure. Here or there?"

"Here. Coffee's better."

He laughed. "I believe it. On my way."

Less than ten seconds later, she heard a knock at the front door, and flew up to answer it. "At least give me a chance to get out of the cave," she said in greeting, though she grinned.

Kal looked a little sheepish. "Force of habit."

She stepped aside to let him in. "Well could you try to break it? Some of us can only go faster than a speeding jet, you know."

"Compromise—shuttle speed."

She chuckled. "Agreed. Now, coffee. What are you in the mood for?"

He looked surprised as she led him into the kitchen and went over to the coffee machine herself. "No butler?"

"No. Not since Alfred died, actually. Dad … well, you know what an asshole Dad turned into, and Tommy and I decided not to bother. We have robotic automatons to clean the place that highly efficient. And how could you know the person you hired was completely trustworthy?"

"Now you sound like Bruce," he commented.

"Force of habit," she echoed with a rueful smile.

Kal pulled up a stool at the kitchen island while Alexa tapped the coffee machine. "Oh, I'll have whatever's easiest."

"And deny me my chance to show off?"

"Show off?"

"Yeah—I can't cook to save my life, but I kick coffee's ass. Anything, really. It's no trouble."

He laughed. "Cappuccino's fine, thanks."

"Sugar?"

"No, thanks."

Sitting there, still in his full Superman garb, in the middle of her kitchen, he looked incredibly out of place. Alexa tilted her head. "You don't own any civvies, do you?"

He shrugged. "Don't get out much."

She grinned. "Apparently not. Et voilà, one cappuccino." She sat opposite him. He sipped, looking impressed. Alexa grinned. She really was proud of her coffee. "It's good, right?"

"I don't know, there's this little place in Metropolis that might be a little better."

"Impossible!"

"Don't worry though—this has got to be the best cappuccino in Gotham."

"And here I was going for world domination. I'm not sure I believe you. You might have to prove it to me." She caught herself suddenly. Was she _flirting_? That was weird. Deciding to cut it out immediately, she sobered. "Kal, about yesterday …"

He pointed to his cheek, which was unblemished. "All gone, see? So no need to apologise."

"I wasn't going to apologise," she smirked. "Though that was very sweet by the way, defending me the way you did."

He shrugged in an embarrassed way. "Instinct I guess."

"And they say chivalry is dead." She cleared her throat, going back to her proposition. "No, what I was going to suggest was we start sparring together. Obviously we could learn something from one another—I realise I'm not as strong as you, or as fast, but my combat skills are greater than yours and without being too conceited, I'm likely to present you with the best challenge you've had in a while. And I can't remember the last time I had an opponent I wasn't sure of beating. Even GL is getting easy." She finished her coffee, and fixed him with a direct look. "What do you think?"

He considered. "I think it's a sensible plan."

"You don't sound convinced."

"Just imagining what Bruce would say if he learns I'd be trying to beat up his daughter on a regular basis."

"'Trying' being the operative word," she grinned. "Besides, I'm sure you sparred with my mother regularly once, didn't you? There's not really a difference."

Superman's cheeks flushed and he smiled as if at a memory. "Actually he wasn't too thrilled with that at first either until he realised she sparred with him twice as much."

"Dad was jealous?" Alexa laughed.

"Yeah, though not just of me. He gave Flash extra monitor duty for flirting with Diana over coffee," he chuckled.

Alexa found herself laughing with him. "But he got over it and probably thought it was a smart idea tactically, right?"

Kal's expression was mildly shocked and amused. "Yeah, those were almost his exact words."

She couldn't help the shiver of excitement that raced through her. "Is that a yes?" She leaped up from her chair in excitement.

"You want to get started now? At least let me finish my coffee first. I'm only faster than a speeding bullet, after all."

* * *

**A/N: Review please!**


	3. Rhiannon

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews! And thank you to DaisyJane, my wonderful beta.  
**

_Rhiannon rings like a bell through the night and_

_Wouldn't you love to love her?_

_Takes to the sky like a bird in flight and_

_Who will be her lover?_

_All your life you've never seen a woman taken by the wind_

_Would you stay if she promised you Heaven? _

_Will you ever win?_

_She is like a cat in the dark and then_

_She is the darkness_

_Rhiannon—Fleetwood Mac_

**Chapter Three**

He'd known what she looked like before this morning, of course—even he saw newspapers occasionally. And he'd known she was beautiful. But Alexa without her mask on, in the flesh, was absolutely stunning. Her every feature was flawless, and it would have been intimidating except for the fact she had Diana's warming smile. In her society role, make up on, hair coiffed and everything polished to perfection, she must look every inch a princess, Kal thought.

Sparring was a good idea, and it was probably the next step in his reintroduction to the League. It was going more smoothly than he'd anticipated, so far anyway. Batwoman's rampage through downtown Gotham aside. He had sparred with Warhawk and Thomas (Batman III, which was still disconcerting), but so far no one had pushed him even into his comfort zone. And ordinarily he might doubt Alexa could, except a couple of days ago she had made him bleed, and he couldn't remember the last time anyone had managed that.

"In the Cave?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Walls of the Cave are only stone. The sparring suites in the Metrotower have been specifically designed –"

"To withstand impacts with meta force behind them, I remember."

"Of course you do. Give me a moment to change."

Once Alexa had morphed into Batwoman (and he was almost disappointed to see those cornflower-blue eyes disappear), the two of them went to the Metrotower, flying rather than the slightly faster teleport.

"So why Metropolis?" Alexa asked as they flew towards it.

"Why Gotham?"

"Because my family have lived there for generations and we have a deep personal connection to the city."

"As I have to Metropolis," he said, a bit defensively.

"I know you have _now_, Kal, but surely you didn't when you first left home. You grew up in Kansas, didn't you?"

"Yeah. But Kansas City doesn't really have a big crime rate. I decided I could do more in Metropolis. Why?"

She shrugged. "Curiosity."

"Are you making a study out of me?"

"Maybe," she replied coyly.

"I'm pretty sure your father kept meticulous records about all members of the League. They could tell you everything they wanted to know."

"Not everything," she corrected as they landed. "If I wanted to know your favourite colour, for instance, I'd be stumped. And besides, I don't like trying to take the measure of a person from words written by someone else. Even if he is my dad."

"That seems like a wise thing to do."

"I'd like to think so. I'm biased though—I only do that with allies. Any of Batman's rogues, I'm happy to take his word without further examination of the criminal in question."

"Again, probably a wise decision."

Entering the turbo-lift, they headed down, underground rather than up to the top of the Metrotower. It was safer, just in case a wall did get destroyed, as that way there was no chance of the building coming down.

"Violet," Kal said as they exited the elevator.

"Sorry?"

"That's my favourite colour. If you were really wondering."

She smiled. "Filed away for future reference."

A civilian member of staff was sitting at an admin desk, typing away on a touchpad. He stood when he saw them approaching. "Are any of the suites free?" Alexa asked.

"Only number five, Batwoman."

"The biggest one. Perfect."

The two of them started towards number five, but the man called out to Kal. "Uh, Superman?"

"Yes?"

"It's – It's good to have you back, sir."

* * *

Kal smiled, but there was a slightly troubled edge to it. No one except Alexa would have heard him mutter, "And suddenly I'm 'sir' again …"

"You don't like it?"

"Not really. I don't like anything that puts me above other people. I know it's just meant as a gesture of respect, but it still bothers me."

"Interesting," Alexa remarked as they entered sparring suite five.

He waited for her to go on, but all she did was to move over to the control panel on the wall. She deactivated the security cameras and password-locked the doors, so no one could enter unauthorised.

Kal lost patience waiting and asked, "What's interesting?"

"Well, you've spent at least the last thirty years—if not longer—pulling away from the rest of the world, so it's really no shock people will treat you differently. We fly in with these god-like powers, save everyone and then vanish again. It must be difficult to see much normality in us. Don't be offended, but you've broken most of the links you had to humanity. It's going to take time to rebuild them."

"So it's my fault?"

"It's not apportioning blame. I'm just stating fact."

It wasn't a fact Kal particularly wanted to hear, but he couldn't deny that Alexa was necessarily wrong. Nor was she completely right, however. He hadn't voluntarily severed any of his ties with humanity—they had all been cut for him. First his parents, Pa Kent first, with throat cancer. Ma had lived to the grand age of ninety-nine. It had been hard, losing his second set of parents, but he had come through it because he still had Lois. She might have aged far faster than him, but she'd still been the most beautiful woman in the world. Right up until the day she died. And they had both known it was coming, for months, for years they had. Kal thought he was prepared, thought he knew grief. He'd had no idea. Their time together just had not been long enough. He realized after her death ... forever wouldn't have been long enough. The reason he left Metropolis and retreated into the Fortress was because there was no material difference between the two. The entire world had become an icy, barren wasteland. There was no solace to be found anywhere, no comfort, no warmth. Overnight, his soulmate had gone, and in her devastating wake had left his entire life an empty, sunless vacuum. Things that had never mattered before mattered with an acute pain. Like the fact that he was not human. Like the fact that he did not belong on Earth.

"Do you think I can?" he asked, suddenly filled with doubt.

"I do," Alexa said seriously. "You're still Superman. And they won't forget that in a hurry."

"I hope you're right."

"Of course I am," she replied cockily. "Now, are we sparring or what?"

"We're sparring. You ready?"

"No. Give me a second." She took her mask off, throwing it into a corner of the room. "Hope you don't mind," she smiled, tying her hair up. "But I figure we'll be at this for a while, so I don't want to get too uncomfortable."

"Not at all."

She didn't stop there though, shedding the top half of her costume to reveal a black sleeveless vest underneath. That done, she turned to face him with a smile and dropped into a fighting stance. "Ready."

Neither of them moved for a moment, and then Alexa grinned. "Too chivalrous to attack a woman, Kal?"

It was fairly obvious she thought she could beat him. Smirking slightly, Kal flew forward in a sudden burst of speed. She dove out of the way just in time, still grinning. She punched for him, and when he caught her fist, she brought her leg up, kneeing him in the stomach. It forced him into the air again, but Alexa was already there, hovering above him. She landed a blow at the base of his skull, which sent him plummeting back to the floor and sent a tingle of pain enough to make him slightly dizzy through his vision.

Still hovering in the air, Alexa no longer looked happy. "Please, Kal. Don't underestimate me again."

He almost protested, but she was right—he thought of her as young, and because of that, inexperienced and unlikely to be a particularly strong opponent. She had already proven the opposite, and reminded him of something he'd forgotten. She had the powers of her mother, and the skills of her both her parents. She had probably been training since she could walk.

He nodded, and then got to his feet again. It was Alexa who moved first, diving down with her foot ready to kick him in the jaw. Kal caught her foot and used her momentum to swing her into the wall. Or, he aimed for the wall. Alexa used his momentum and a little of her own at just the right moment, and instead of her ending up slammed into a wall, she swung around in mid air and stopped behind him. She grabbed his shoulders from behind and lifted him, back-flipping and letting go of him while they were both upside down, driving him headfirst into the floor. Titanium-reinforced floor met Kryptonian head, and naturally the floor gave way. There was a dent the exact shape and size of his head and shoulders when he extracted himself, and absolutely no sign of a Batwoman. Apart from her breathing, quiet and steady, if a little quick. And her heartbeat. Both of which were clear and loud as sirens to Kal's hearing. She was in the far right corner of the ceiling, hiding in the dimness.

Kal accelerated upwards at top speed, blurring faster than Alexa's eye should have been able to follow him. But he heard her sharp intake of breath anyway, and while she only had time to move her head two inches to the left, it was enough. His fist sank into the wall. Alexa's fist came up to his throat; he caught it, then did the same to the other one, pinning her against the wall. Not to be deterred, all Alexa did was slam her head forwards, smashing her forehead into the bridge of his nose. It made Kal see stars for about three seconds—it made Alexa swear extremely loudly and in Themysciran. At least, he assumed she'd sworn.

It was definitely followed up by a, "Fucking _hell_ that hurt!"

"That … was not a good idea," he said.

She managed a shaky laugh, blinking rapidly. "You're telling me."

"Do you want to stop?"

"Don't be …" she cut off, her eyelids slid shut and she dropped like a stone towards the floor.

Kal dove after her, and caught her a few good metres before she hit the floor, but then Alexa jerked, grabbed _his_ arm and flipped him. For the second time, Kal found his face in the floor. Only this time, both his arms were twisted up behind his back, and Alexa was straddling his hips, her weight on his lower back.

"Yield?" she asked, sounding delighted.

He groaned. "Tell me I did not just fall for the oldest trick in the book."

"Yield first."

"Alright, I yield."

She got off him, though didn't stand up. When he turned around to face her, she looked even more beautiful than she had before they started. Her cheeks were flushed, her blue eyes had been made more intensely blue by the exercise, and she had a genuinely pleased grin on her face. The smell of her adrenaline came off her strongly, and her heartbeat was a furious drum-pounding in Kal's ears. Or was that his?

"You fell for the oldest trick in the book," she said with a light, musical laugh.

Kal nodded, unable to look away from her. Until a thin line of dark red liquid began to seep from one of her nostrils. He frowned. "Alexa, you're bleeding. Your nose."

She put a hand to her face, then grimaced. "Damn. I know people who are hard-headed but I think you win that contest," she said.

"Do you need to see a doctor?"

She shook her head. "Nah, it's fine. Stopping already."

She was right, after she'd wiped away the blood, no more replaced it. Kal still felt guilty though. "I'm sorry."

She smiled warmly. "Kal, you didn't make me headbutt you."

"True, but if –"

"Please don't feel bad—I've been through worse, and I've learned a lesson: Kryptonian skulls are harder than Amazon ones."

"Probably thicker, too," he said, getting to his feet and then holding out a hand to help her up as well. Alexa looked pleasantly surprised at the gesture and took his hand.

"Thank you. So," she said, as they walked out, Alexa now fully masked again, "same time tomorrow?"

"Yeah, unless some major crisis happens in the world," Kal half joked.

* * *

No crises happened, so they did continue the next day, and another four times that week alone, and each time, both of them came away a little more excited, and a little more confused. Alexa knew she definitely had been flirting when Kal had come over for coffee, and she was still doing so now. She didn't feel any embarrassment over finding him attractive; there wasn't a woman in the world who could argue he wasn't. It surprised her, yes, as she'd never considered the older man before, and a nearly hundred years was certainly an age gap, but it didn't bother her. She honestly found his maturity something that distinguished him from the boys that she usually dated. Alexa had always been practically-minded, and in terms of practicality, age literally was just a number for two immortal beings. And while he was charming and warm and funny, Alexa couldn't deny that the thing she felt most for him was desire. She kept finding things about him that were sexy, whether it was the breadth of his shoulders of the silver in his hair. It didn't hurt that he found her attractive too. And she knew he did—whether he acted on it or not.

Sparring sessions were a kind of sweet torture—neither of them held back (though she knew, logically, Kal must be doing so) in the fight, and a lot of dents got put into walls, floors and ceilings in the Metrotower's sparring suites, but it felt like dancing. There was a kind of rhythm to it, both of them moving in harmony. All that was missing was music. Alexa relished the challenge, and it never failed to be just that. He was stronger than her by about five or six times, according to the information she had access to, and his strength could vary depending on sunlight exposure. But Alexa was by far the superior in technique. He had strength; she had martial arts; he had laser-beam eyes, and she was expert in the use of almost every non-projectile weapon in the world. She had won their first sparring match, but then he won the next, and so on. They invariably ended with large amounts of bodily contact. Alexa hated losing—but she also enjoyed the feeling of being pressed against him, both of them heated and so-suddenly aroused.

Yesterday, there had been a moment where she had teetered on the edge of it. One drop of sweat, after more than an hour had run down Kal's neck. The temptation to lean forwards—and it would only have been a few inches, they were that close—and _lick _it off was almost overpowering. By the time she'd dragged her eyes back up to Kal's face, it was to find _his _gaze on her mouth. Unconsciously, she bit her lip, and the two of them shared a startled, guilty look. The session had ended there, no victory declared.

It might have helped if they didn't work so well together, but they did, becoming somewhat of a deadly duo. Last Tuesday being a prime example …

An international terrorist cell had invaded a nuclear fusion plant on the outskirts of Las Vegas, taking over sixty hostages and demanding, in return for their lives, the immediate release of several detainees the terrorists claimed the US government locked up somewhere. Whether the government had or not was irrelevant; they weren't confirming or denying anything and they did not negotiate with terrorists. Happily, that was the point of a Justice League, and Superman was already there dealing with the situation. The bad guys had about ten seconds, everyone assumed, until they were in custody and the power plant workers were released.

Except the terrorists were smart, and they'd bought a certain glowing green rock with them. Alexa, in the monitor room of the Metrotower, was watching it all take place. She saw Kal vanish, blurring into the building, and then about twenty seconds later, blur back out again. There was a frown on his handsome face that hadn't been there when he went inside. He needed help with something, clearly.

Alexa left the monitor room and flew down to the transport pad. "Send me to Superman's location," she ordered the technician.

A second later she was standing in Nevada, blinking in the afternoon sunshine. There were about a dozen members of the Nevada State Police standing there as well as her ally. Kal looked pleased, but not remotely surprised to see her. "Batwoman."

"Kryptonite?" she asked.

He nodded. "Armed guards on all the access points they can cover; infrared cameras on the one's the can't. All of them have at least one piece of Kryptonite on them. The hostages are being held in the canteen, but I can't get within thirty feet of it."

"How many hostiles are there?" she asked. She knew it would take some time for his abilities to come back to full strength after Kryptonite exposure, but standing the Nevada sunlight it certainly wouldn't take long.

"Fifty four."

"And the easiest route in?"

"Underground access tunnels. But they're rigged with booby traps and cameras, like I said."

"Not a problem. I'll need your help. Where's the entrance to the tunnels?"

"Over here, ma'am," one of the police officers said.

He led them to a set of doors that were padlocked shut and chained; Alexa quickly snapped the chain and pulled the padlock away, then opened the doors. Dark stairs confronted them, and Alexa went down first. There was no lighting, but neither of them needed there to be; Kal's vision was perfect even in the dark, and Alexa's mask had inbuilt night vision.

The stairs continued down for another thirty feet or so, and then leveled out into the tunnel, which seemed to go towards the foundations of the fusion plant. "What are they saying they'll do if their demands aren't met?"

"Kill hostages. And one was talking about blowing up the fusion reactor."

Alexa snorted. "Good luck with that one."

"It won't work?"

"No. It's impossible to blow up a fusion reactor."

"Why?"

"If there's a breach, the magnetic containment fails and the reactor just switches off. No reactor, no reaction. There would be a high-energy plasma discharge, but no more. "

The tunnel turned a corner up ahead, and just before Alexa went past it, Kal caught her arm. "The first camera is just ahead. Any further and they'll spot us. Now would be a good time for that plan of yours."

"Super-cool me."

"Come again?"

"Use your freeze breath to lower my temperature down to the ambient one. That way I'll be as grey as any other image as far as the cameras concerned. Unless someone's watching really closely, I'll get through undetected."

"That will cause hypothermia. It could well kill you."

She shook her head. "Thermal coils in my suit. They'll regulate my body temperature. All you're cooling is the external layer. And maybe my face," she added, gesturing to the exposed lower half.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. It won't last long before the coils heat me up again though, so you'll probably have to keep doing it until we get past the cameras. I'll sabotage each one as we get to it, so you can come with me."

"Alright."

He still didn't look convinced, but as he didn't come up with a better plan, she knew she'd won the argument. A moment later, she was slightly cooler than the rest of the tunnel. And probably slightly cooler than she'd wanted to be, but she wasn't about to show Kal that. Instead she lifted quickly into the air and flew around the corner. The infrared camera was about fifty feet away, and she could feel herself warming up with every foot that passed. She got to the camera just in time, twisting it away carefully. It would still show nothing but grey, except now it was pointing at the ceiling.

"It's clear," she said quietly.

There were another twelve cameras after the first one, and Alexa got colder with every application of freeze-breath. She was able to ignore it pretty effectively, at least at first. The thermal coils in her suit were doing their job well, and regulating her body temperature effectively. The problem was that they weren't designed to adapt quickly, multiple times. If she'd been in a consistently cold environment, fine, a warm one likewise, but she was forcing them to go through warm, cold, warm, cold, warm, cold every time there was a camera to be disabled. At the seventh camera, a warning flashed up inside her mask—thermal coils operating at seventy per cent capacity. And then sixty. And then fifty. She didn't react to the warning, and she didn't make any sign to Kal that the last time he cooled her down, it was her own body warming her back up again.

While she was focused on the mission, it was easy; she focused entirely on that, keeping herself so still and poised that she didn't even shiver. When they got past all the cameras, there were still the armed guards to consider—and they were protected by kryptonite, thus rendering them safe. Unfortunately for them, it did absolutely nothing to render them safe against Amazons.

Alexa couldn't quite blur as fast as Kal could, but she could move more than fast enough for these bozos. She couldn't have them making too much noise though, so the first one got as far as a gasp, raising his gun and nothing else before she ripped it out of his hands, threw him to the ground and put him in a sleeper hold. After a moment he went limp. She tore the kryptonite—on a necklace—off his body and slipped it into a lead-lined pouch on her belt.

Kal joined her. "There are still a lot more guards."

"I know. I'll take the ones immediately surrounding the hostages, then you can release them, and I'll clear out the others. Any alterations you can think of?"

"Sounds good to me."

"Okay then."

There were thirty two guards between them and the hostages, and it took Alexa a little over two minutes to deal with them. The first fifteen or so were isolated, apart from each other and weren't given time to make much in the way of noise. After that, they started congregating in groups of about three or more, and they did start firing at her. Their machine guns rapped out a rapid fire burst of red hot bullets, each of which were repelled by the bracelets hidden in her gloves (the only piece of Amazon armour in her suit) and sent ricocheting off the walls. That inevitably brought more guards running, and Alexa tore into them all.

In close quarters, it was obvious that they relied heavily on their guns, since their punches were clumsy, slow for the most part. Those that did connect hardly hurt, but most were rebuffed. The only challenge was the amount of men there were. After all of them were down, she had to spend another five minutes searching through all the unconscious bodies for all trace of Kryptonite, and then she had to find space for it all. By the time she had the last piece, there was almost no space in her belt.

"Hera, they really didn't want you getting up here, Kal," she muttered into her com-link.

"_Tell me about it._"

"Well, you can come up here now. It's clear."

There was a whoosing noise, as usual, and then he was at her side. The doors to the canteen were locked, chained and had been guarded with guns. Kal pulled them off and opened the double doors. There were at least two hundred workers all tied up in there, in groups of no more than five or six.

"I'll get them," Kal said. "There are still more terrorists."

She nodded. "Get the police in here when you can. They might be getting bored out there."

"Be careful."

She disappeared into the rest of the building, sweeping through the last of the terrorists without a problem, and packing away any kryptonite she found. The sheer amount of it was worrying—any the League had ever found was resting in a secure vault underground, in the Czech Republic. Any Bruce had ever found was either in the Batcave or on Isla Wayne, and by all estimates that accounted for nearly all of the kryptonite likely to have fallen to Earth. And yet someone had given all of these men a piece each.

It took some time, in all her worrying, to realise how cold she was. Her hands weren't cold, and neither was her face, but her chest felt hollow, it was so cold. Her stomach, the same. _Oh, you stupid, stupid girl_, she thought.

Alright, she had to conserve whatever heat she could, which meant immediate cessation of movement apart from rubbing her chest. She had hypothermia—going from almost no movement to constant and quick movement of her limbs had meant that the warm blood at her core had fled to her limbs. Unfortunately, that also meant that the cold blood had gone to her core.

Her com-link beeped. "_All the hostages are out._"

Alexa closed her eyes in relief at the sound of Kal's voice. "Good. Need your help."

"_Where are you_?"

"Fifth floor."

Half a second later, she was confronted with a pair of concerned blue eyes. "What's the matter?"

"Next time I tell you to breathe cold all over me, remind me of this, okay?"

"Hypothermia?"

"Yeah."

"Metrotower, transport myself and Batwoman to the infirmary, right now."

Alexa thought that was a good idea, but she wasn't particularly expecting him to pick her up like a sack of potatoes and pull her flush against him. Under normal circumstances she probably would have enjoyed that too, except this was just to get her close to his body heat.

The Metrotower teleport engaged, and the infirmary appeared around them, the doctors already rushing towards them and with a gurney ready for her. Kal put her down on it. "She's got hypothermia."

"I'll be fine," she said. "It's not severe."

"Hurry up."

The doctors were wrapping silver-foil blankets around her, then piling normal blankets on top of those. She wasn't really focused on herself though; she felt guilty at how guilty _Kal _looked. "It's not your fault," she whispered, knowing he'd hear it.

A doctor leaned over her, blocking her eye contact with Kal. "Batwoman, try to shiver, if you can."

She smiled. "Can I have some coffee? Coffee would be good."

"In a moment."

"Hot liquids will raise my core temperature," she countered.

"Let them work," Kal interrupted, looking hard at her.

The corner of her mouth curled up into a slight smirk. "Yes, sir."

After another thirty minutes of wrapping her up and keeping her warm, the doctors were satisfied that her core temperature was high enough. They weren't prepared to let her leave until she'd kept it for another two hours though.

"With all due respect, you can't stop me leaving, doctor."

"I can," Kal said. She thought he intended his tone to be threatening, but it was tempered by the relief in his gaze.

When the doctor left them alone, she spoke before he could. "Don't feel guilty."

"Who said I felt guilty?"

"You don't need to say it, I can tell. Kal, it was my suggestion, remember."

"I should have known better than to agree though. You're –"

"What? Too young?" she asked. "You don't believe that. It was a risk, I never said it wasn't."

"A risk you didn't have to take."

"A risk that paid off."

He frowned. "How do you work that out?"

"I'm alive aren't I? The hostages are safe, the bad guys are in custody, and by tomorrow I'll be right as rain."

"So the ends justify the means?"

"Yes, in this case. Or are you disagreeing?"

He let out a very low noise of pure frustration. "Alexa, you …"

She grinned. "Are too much like my mother, right?"

"And your father," he muttered. "And the combination probably makes you worse than both of them." He sighed in exacerbation.

She grinned. "Am I forgiven?"

He glowered for just a second longer, and then smiled. "Just."

* * *

Last Tuesday seemed like weeks ago, and yesterday. When she thought back at the entire length of her acquaintance with Kal, though, everything seemed like that. Like she'd known him forever, and she knew him not at all.

She was still weighing her options. She did not think it likely that Kal would make the first move. He wanted her, she was completely sure of that. But whereas that excited and aroused her, it confused him. She wondered when the last time he'd had sex was, as that might have been a factor in his hesitation. Another might be that he had only known her a few weeks, and he had grown up in the twentieth century. Alexa had the benefit of being born in the latter part of the twenty-first. Sex, as far as she was concerned, was a perfectly valid form of recreation. She didn't think it was the length of their acquaintance that bothered him though. More likely his/her age, her parents and … something else. The more she learned about him, the more she thought it was probably the memory of his wife, Lois, that was the biggest obstacle them becoming more than friends. Alexa understood that, and while she carried on flirting, she knew there was a line that Kal had to be the one to cross.

Alexa shook her head and refocused on the task in hand: patrol. There were still a few pockets of violence throughout the city, and Old Gotham had been one area that had never really been cleaned up successfully. Terry had purged it of crime during his tenure of Batman, but drug dealers and pimps had always managed to gravitate back to it. Batwoman's theory was that they were following tradition, returning to what social history had taught them was their territory. The supervillains were all but gone from Gotham now, cockroaches in the bathtub of her city that had been exterminated by Terry and their father before him. What Alexa was left with now was the mildew. Easy to remove in theory, but often the most stubborn stain. What she dealt with were the petty criminals—but that was relative, really. It still meant mob bosses, serial killers, large-scale drug dealers …

Tonight was about one of those drug dealers. Ozzie Cawson supplied narcotics to half of the city, but because Alexa had shut down a lot of his production factories, he'd been getting desperate, cutting his drugs with other white powders that mostly consisted of poisons. Five people had died in the last two weeks because of it, and Batwoman was determined there wasn't going to be sixth. The police had been unable to take him down as yet—there was a mole in the GCPD, and a corresponding anti-corruption investigation, headed by Matt himself. Before they identified and arrested the informant, it would be impossible for them to go after Ozzie Cawson without him being alerted. Happily, Matt had told her, it paid having a sister who was Batwoman. All the evidence was in place; all that was missing was the criminal.

"How's the rest of the city?" she asked Thomas, who was monitoring from the Cave.

"_Quiet. Now's as good a time as any._"

"Agreed."

She flew to the building opposite Cawson's home. It was a nice house—in its own compound, patrolled by guards with dogs, CCTV on every corner and bulletproof glass in the windows. Clearly Ozzie thought someone was coming for him. Too bad for him it was her, she thought with a smirk.

"Hacked in?" she asked.

"_Yeah. We have full control of the cameras._"

As she watched, the cameras all pointed away from her. She now had a blind spot of about three feet—any further and the people monitoring the CCTV screens could get suspicious. It would be more than wide enough for Alexa. From her belt she pulled four pellets, black and oblong, about two inches long. She pressed a button in the centre, and the thing began to beep steadily. Wasting no time, she threw it through the nearest window. Bulletproof glass stood no chance with how hard she'd thrown it, and it burst through several walls before it landed on the floor of the second story with a thud. Coupled with the sound of breaking glass, it made the guards come running. Right in time for the pellet to explode in their faces. It was a clever little device, even if she did say so herself. The explosion wasn't really; it was essentially a flash grenade. While they were blinded, the pellet started projecting a hologram of fire. Unlike most holograms, it was completely impossible to detect any difference between that and the real thing. Unless you put your hand in it. By the time the men recovered their senses—literally—the 'fire' had completely consumed that end of the corridor. They all did the right thing, and ran away.

Alexa put a hand to her com-link. "Fire alarms."

They were linked in with the computer system, which Tommy could hack through its wifi, and he did so now—shrill and blaring, the alarms went off, to convince everyone inside the building that the fire was real.

"_Did it work?_" Thomas asked excitedly.

"Like a charm."

She threw the rest of the pellets through the other windows and people poured out of the front doors, from prostitutes to burly guards, and even a dumpy woman who looked like she might be Ozzie's mother. Within seconds, the building was empty. Except for one corner of the building. There, she could hear several voices raised in alarm, heading towards the back exit. Batwoman was waiting for them. She let them come all the way out and into the alley before she pounced, diving down onto two of the guards. They were both unconscious before they hit the ground. That still left four guards before she could get to Ozzie. All of whom were now firing semi-automatics at her. She brought her bracelets up in time, and bullets sprang from the black metal and ricocheted off in safe directions. She got to the nearest man and grabbed his wrist, bending it backwards and breaking the bones. Then she picked him up and swing him into Ozzie. It would kept him down until she dealt with his guards. The next guard had decided that guns weren't going to work, so dropped his and attacked her with bare fists. He went to punch her in the face; she dodged under his arm and dropped to one knee. He crumpled to the ground. She pushed his head into the floor; the next guy decided to try his lick. He slammed the butt of his pistol into the back of her neck. It didn't break—she wasn't as impervious as Kal—but it didn't really do anything either. By the time Alexa had turned around, he'd realised it wasn't going to work and had aimed the barrel at her instead. She swatted it away with one hand, and with the other grabbed his lower leg, squeezing gently. Both tibia and fibula broke with satisfying cracks, and she knocked him out with a tap to the forehead.

Ozzie, at this point, recovered some of his wits and shot her. The bullet grazed her shoulder, nothing more, and she knew it would heal before a few hours had passed. Ozzie wasn't given a chance to fire again. Once he was out, she handcuffed him and all his guards, then flew the whole lot to GCPD, dumping them on the roof next to the batsignal. She tapped her com-link.

"Inform Matt that Ozzie's been gift-wrapped. Normal place. I'm coming home."

"_Acknowledged. See you in thirty._"

* * *

**A/N: Review please! **


	4. Bitch

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! And thank you to the beta of all betas, DaisyJane :) I believe some people have been mourning the lack of Bruce/Diana, so here they are!  
**

_I'm a bitch, __I'm a lover,_

_I'm a child, I'm a mother,  
_

_I'm a sinner, I'm a saint,  
_

_I do not feel ashamed,  
_

_I'm your hell, I'm your dream,  
_

_I'm nothing in between,  
_

_You know you wouldn't want it any other way,  
_

_So take me as I am,  
_

_This may mean you'll have to be a stronger man,  
_

_Rest assured that when I start to make you nervous,  
_

_And I'm going to extremes,  
_

_Tomorrow I will change,  
_

_And today won't mean a thing._

Bitch—Meredith Brooks

**Chapter Four **

Thomas looked impressed when Alexa arrived back five seconds earlier than planned. "Twenty four point seven seconds. You're getting faster."

"Sparring with Kal's paying off, I guess," she shrugged, and then winced at the pain in her shoulder.

Thomas noticed her expression. "You've been shot?"

She nodded. "Grazed."

"You should still dress it. Hang on, I'll get some gauze." He applied it for her, and then looked at his watch. "Better get some sleep. It's three a.m."

"You go up. I'm going to write the logs up and call Matt, make sure they've got everything they need."

"Alright. Night, Lexie."

"See you in the morning, Tommy."

He kissed her cheek and went upstairs, leaving Alexa alone in the Cave. She spent a moment with her eyes closed, running through everything else on the to do list. Logs first, then sleep, then possibly gathering more evidence for Matt—and she'd promised her parents a visit this weekend … She was looking forward to getting away for a bit—next week she had a fundraising gala for a new presidential candidate, and that would require her to be endlessly charming and effortless and the magnet for everyone's eye. While Thomas sought out the best-looking girl in the place and made her flame of the week. It would take energy, and a lot of it, to make it look like it took none at all. Having a few days off with her parents, where she had to be no one except herself, would be perfect. If she had time then maybe she could even go and see her grandmother, Alexa thought with a sudden smile.

With that happy thought in mind, she quickly ran through the rest of what she had to do. Within an hour the logs were updated, Matt had been called—they had all they needed, and forensics were combing through Ozzie's hideout right now—and then she headed to bed. Her sleep was dreamless.

The next day she and Kal had scheduled yet another training session together, but she arrived a little bit late, having run into a legal hitch with her project to build a shelter for domestic violence victims—something about planning permission being stalled by the city, and it was pushing everything back.

She arrived seriously needing to blow off some steam, and her usual smile was replaced with, "Don't you just _love_ lawyers?"

"Don't really know any. What's wrong?"

"It's these shelters I want to build—apparently the application for planning permission wasn't filed correctly at city hall. So despite the fact that they approved the building, it all has to be done again, and it's taken almost a year to get this far." She sighed, pulling off the top half of her suit. "Would it be wrong of me to sneak in and put a 'correct' copy in?"

He laughed. "Probably."

"I was afraid you were going to say that," she sighed. She took her mask off and then turned around to find a hair tie for her mass of black hair.

She heard Kal give a sharp intake of breath. "Are you injured?"

"Huh? Oh, my shoulder. No. Well, I got shot."

"You got shot and you're not injured?"

"It was just a graze. It's probably healed by now."

"Are you sure? If you want to give training a miss today –"

"Kal, please. It's gone by now. Take the gauze off if you don't believe me."

She turned back around to let him get to the gauze, then couldn't stop her heart rate from increasing at the knowledge he was going to touch her. He had touched her before, but that was only her hands, and this felt more … intimate.

His fingers were gentle, and he barely touched her at all as he peeled the gauze off. When he ran the pad of his thumb over the skin previously covered up, a warm shiver raced over her.

"Well?"

"Nothing," he murmured. "You're perfect."

Then he pulled his hand away quickly, and Alexa's hope of any progress being made today faded. Oh well—back to flirting it was then. She turned around with a grin. "Perfect, huh?"

"No sign you were ever hurt at all," he said quickly. "How did it happen anyway?"

"Drug dealer. Decided he didn't want to be arrested, for some reason."

"Criminals resisting arrest, imagine that."

"I know, it's shocking," she grinned. "Ready?"

"Ready."

An hour later—Alexa won—the two of them exited the sparring suite. At this point there were normally showers, with Alexa's imagination conjuring up images of how much more fun it would be if they just took the same shower. Then it was normally coffee before Alexa went back to Gotham and Kal went out to Metropolis. Not today, though.

Today, Kal stopped her before they headed to the commissary. "Alexa, are you busy for the rest of the night?"

"No." She raised an eyebrow. "What did you have in mind?"

'I might need your help with something. There's been a spate of kidnappings recently—I think purely for making money. The families are always rich and the children are always released, unharmed, once a ransom has been paid. But it's still not a pattern I want repeating."

"Alright. Any suspects?"

He led her to his quarters, Alexa trying to hold back a slight chuckle as it occurred to her that maybe anyone walking past might assume something other than partnership was going on. _No such luck_, she thought with a rueful smile.

Kal's quarters were larger than the average League member's, because of his very long history with it and because of his status on the council. Even though he hadn't been at council meetings for about ten years (though that was changing), no one had ever suggested that he lose his place, or that his quarters might be reassigned. Alexa's rarely used quarters were much the same size, but very different inside. The decoration was as Themysciran as she could make it, and there was a large altar for worship of the gods at one end—but she only ever really used them for those times when extreme fatigue meant she _needed _sleep then and there, and only sleep. Until now there hadn't been anyone in the League she'd felt the least bit of desire. Kal's quarters seemed to be in an odd flux of transit—there were few possessions on the surfaces, and nothing in the closet, which was slightly open. Apart from raising the delicious possibility that he slept naked, it made Alexa frown. At the bottom of the closet there appeared to be a box, another one in the left-hand corner and another one by the bed.

"Are you moving somewhere, Kal?"

"I'm sorry? Oh, the boxes. Yeah, kinda. I've moved some of my things down from the Fortress—easier that way. Now I don't have to keep disappearing for thirty seconds at a time."

Alexa's frown didn't fade. It actually made perfect sense; how could she not have realised? He didn't have civilian clothing, why would he have a civilian home? Unless he just didn't consider himself a civilian ever, or didn't have a civilian part of his life. Goddesses, when did he take any time off?

"Alexa?"

She blinked. "Sorry. I drifted off."

"Didn't realise I was that boring."

She smiled, moving forwards to look at the screen, and squeezed his shoulder. "Quite the opposite, Kal. Is this what you needed help with?" she asked, not moving her face, which now happened to be a few inches from his.

"Uh, yeah."

She nodded and looked carefully at the screen, schooling her expression. She did not wish to force his hand, and she didn't want to play with him either—not unless he was playing too—but there was no harm in enjoying herself for the time being. Besides, she was confident that she new him well enough by now that she would recognised it if he was truly made uncomfortable by her, and she would stop immediately if that was the case.

With half her attention on Kal, there was only half of her mind left to work on the file on-screen. But even half of Alexa's mind was brilliant, and within a minute she had finished reading through all of the information. It was very well compiled, and all the statistics of each crime and even an image of a masked man, captured on CCTV of the potential suspect.

She leaned back and sat on the desk facing Kal, not missing the way his eyes flicked to her legs and back up again, like he couldn't help it. "I don't see what you need my help with, Kal. You seem to have evidence in abundance."

"But I haven't found him. There's never been any DNA, and according to the children he has set free, he wears white, with this mask over his face. I'd like you to help me find him. I don't even know what I'm looking for, apart from he's a man, and that narrows it down to about ten million people in the inner city alone."

She nodded thoughtfully. "I see the problem, but I'm not a profiler, Kal."

"You're Batwoman," he countered.

"Alright." She didn't need to look back at the file—it was already committed to memory. "The fact that he does it for money indicates he's not particularly vicious; the children aren't mistreated, so he's not apathetic or totally lacking in compassion. He's essentially a mercenary."

"So am I looking for someone with military experience?"

"Not necessarily … in fact, no. The children have said he gave them candy, let them watch TV—it's almost apologetic. A military man would treat it like a mission. He'd give them what they needed but nothing they liked. No, you're looking for a civilian. And no DNA, and he wears pure white …"

"What are you thinking?"

She wasn't listening. "Was there a high profile kidnapping in Metropolis, within the last two years? One that didn't go well?"

Kal considered. "There was one—a little girl from an upper class family; she died during a rescue attempt. Even though the family was going to pay the ransom, the police decided to try a SWAT-team anyway."

Alexa clapped her hands together. "That's it! Alright, what you're looking for is probably a forensic scientist. Or a former one, rather—who helped with the clean up of that case. He'll have been fired a couple of months before the first of these kidnappings started, and he'll probably own some property somewhere, a warehouse or something. That's where he'll be keeping the children."

She'd scarcely finished the sentence before Kal's fingers had finished flying over the touch-pad keyboard. It was only another half-second before the computer caught up with him.

"Got it. George Harrington—fired from the Metropolis Forensic Service eleven months ago, and he worked on the Emily Davies case. And he has a list of properties to his name, most of which are pretty remote and rarely visited."

"Home address?" she asked eagerly, leaning forwards.

"Elizabeth Tower. Alexa, you're brilliant!" He grinned, kissed her cheek apparently without thinking about it, and then blurred to the door, only then pausing. "You coming?"

"Do you want me to?"

"I might need backup."

She laughed and flew after him at top speed. Apparently he didn't expect her to shoot past time before they'd gone a hundred yards from the Metrotower. "Come on, old man! Thought you were supposed to be fast or something!"

He caught up to her, naturally, but it was definitely fun, zooming through the skyline of Metropolis, while it lasted. And it meant more desire so thick she could taste it, but she managed to swallow it back by the time they arrived at Elizabeth Tower.

Alexa scanned Harrington's apartment with the x-ray vision in her mask. "He's alone."

Kal nodded, of course not needing the help of any kind of mask. "Why did you specifically ask if the kidnapping of Emily Davies had gone badly?"

"Because it explains why he's trying so hard with his kidnappings. Why none of the children are harmed at all."

Kal nodded in understanding, and they both returned to observing Harrington. "Doesn't look like he's going to bed though. Odd, considering it's three a.m., don't you think?"

"Just a little. Not as odd as the soda and Twinkies he's packing into that bag though."

They both burst in at once, Alexa hanging back a little bit. She didn't want to intrude, after all, this was Kal's city, and she was sure he would do the same if it was Gotham. Harrington didn't seem to want to talk, though. And as much as she admired Kal, Alexa couldn't help thinking it really would be much quicker to let her do it. She delicately cleared her throat, a few minutes into the interrogation. Both Kal and Harrington glanced over to her.

She smiled sweetly at her teammate. "May I?"

He smirked, and then bodily threw Harrington at her. She caught him by the lapels of his cheap jacket. He didn't seem fazed. "Look, lady, if _Superman –_"

Alexa dropped him out of the window. He screamed, solidly, for fifty stories. And then abruptly stopped when she caught him casually by the ankle. She pulled him back up to the apartment. Kal was standing by the window, looking both impressed and more than a bit shocked. Alexa did not look at him, her attention all on Harrington.

"Now," she said, her voice still chillingly pleasant. "Where is Matthew Saxon? And try not to lie to me. Deception upsets me so much I might forget to catch you."

"You – You're crazy!"

She sighed. "They never come up with anything more original," she commented to Kal. Then she dropped Harrington again. Having her mother's lasso would probably save her a lot of trouble but probably wouldn't be as much fun. When he came back up, he was barely conscious. Alexa helped with that by slapping him across the face, then slamming him into a wall. "No one goes out at three a.m. with a bag of fucking _Twinkies_ unless they're up to something they shouldn't be, do they, Georgie? Or maybe you're on the prowl, huh? Trawling for more victims, are we? Maybe just taking them isn't enough anymore, Georgie, maybe all the candy, all those cartoons, maybe they're lures now. 'Come back to my place, little one, and you'll find a whole room full of _puppies_.'," she mocked.

"No, no I swear I never –"

"No? Then prove it! Where is Matthew Saxon?"

"He's at Baker's Yard! The depot there, under the dispatch room!"

There was a whoosh of air, and then Kal was gone. Batwoman knocked Harrington out and then handcuffed him. Then she pulled out the memory card she'd recorded Harrington's confession onto, and laid it onto his chest.

"Batwoman to Superman."

"_I've got Matthew Saxon. He's pretty shaken but he's okay._"

"Good. Harrington's confession just needs lifting off his chest."

"You don't sound like you're staying."

"Can't. Early flight to Isla Wayne tomorrow."

"_Alright_." Was that disappointment she heard in his voice? "_Give them my best._"

"I will. See you next week, Kal."

"_Of course. I really appreciate your help, Alexa. Couldn't have done it without you._"

"I think you and I both know that's not true," she smiled, though she let the point lie there. "But I was certainly glad to help."

"_Take care. See you soon._"

"Bye."

* * *

Her parents' island was a welcome sight to Alexa when it came into sight, early the next morning. She had crossed the Atlantic early, flying into the oncoming dawn. The island didn't have an official name, as far as her parents were concerned, so as children Thomas and Alexandra had nicknamed it Isla Wayne, and the name had stuck. Legally, the land didn't belong to her parents at all, but it had never crossed her mind to think of it as anything but their home. Gotham and Wayne Manor were now her home. Man's World, as strange as it was to think of it in the terms of her Amazon sisters.

Isla Wayne was located in the Mediterranean, about twenty miles from the Greek coast. Bruce had bought it, wholesale, from the Greek government in about 2080, and had lived there happily with his wife and children, until Thomas and Alexandra had grown up and moved to Gotham. Bruce and Diana lived there still. Themyscira was only seventy-six miles away, a comfortable distance for Diana to travel to see her mother and sisters—as it had been for Alexa to see them regularly as she grew up.

A little warning flashed up on the heads-up display in front of her, warning her that she was nearing the sovereign nation of Themyscira, and that attempting a landing without permission from Her Majesty Queen Hippolyta was inadvisable. To say the least, Alexa thought with a smile. She was one of the very privileged few that could come and go and she pleased—being the Queen's granddaughter had its perks. She would definitely go see her grandmother if she could. From seeing her every few weeks, and living on Themyscira during her sixteenth year, her visits had dropped to once every few months, and it could be miserable at times. But Hippolyta would have to wait a little longer—Alexa's heart was singing at the prospect of seeing her parents, so she adjusted her course slightly, and a few moments later touched down in their olive grove. She hopped lightly out of the invisible plane (inherited from her mother), grabbing her weekend bag from the cockpit and flying up to the house.

It was perched on top of the only hill on the island, on the southern end and overlooking the sea. It was a large, classical-style villa, newly built with modern plumbing, electricity and a swimming pool. It had white washed walls, red tiled flooring and a blue painted roof, and inside was furnished elegantly but not ostentatiously. Everything was wonderfully Mediterranean. Was it any wonder Gotham had taken so much adjusting to, she wondered?

There were no locks on the doors—what would be the point?—but she knew her approach and arrival would have been noted. Sure enough, when she pushed open the door and put her bag down, her mother's voice rang out.

"We're on the terrace, darling!"

Alexa grinned and made her way through the cool dimness of the house. She found both her parents eating breakfast, and neither of them properly dressed yet. "Nine in the morning and you're still in your pyjamas! Slackers."

Both of them stood and greeted her with tight hugs. "Retirement, what can I say?" Bruce grinned.

"Did you come straight from Gotham, Alexa?" Diana asked.

Alexa grinned and gestured at the batsuit. "No, I thought I'd just go shopping like this. It's amazing the fashions those crazy kids are wearing at the moment."

"You must have flown through the night to get here so early," Diana replied, absorbing the sarcasm. "You look tired."

Alexa shrugged. "Goes with the lifestyle."

Bruce gestured to an empty chair. "Come and have some breakfast, honey."

Alexa helped herself to coffee and some fresh bread, dipping it into a little bowl of olive oil. "Thanks, Daddy. I'm starving I have to admit. And yes, Mom, tired too."

"Are you working too hard?"

"No," Alexa replied briefly, still stuffing her face with food, now moving on to fruit and yogurt. "Just working. Yesterday was long though—if successful. Is it okay if I sleep for a bit later on?"

"Of course. It's what sensible people do during the heat of the day anyway."

Alexa nodded. It was going to be a hot day here in Greece, the kind that baked the stones in the walls and made the air dance with heat. But right now it was still just warm, with the breeze fresh off the sea and the birds singing. She stretched languidly. "Hera, I've missed this place. And you two, of course," she added to her parents. "So what's new? Did you get your roses sorted out, Mom?"

"Yes, the curse of the aphid has departed these shores! We can go down and see the roses now, if you like. It's your father's turn to do the dishes, so it's probably safer for us to be out of the house for a little while."

Bruce narrowed his eyes, but still kissed Diana as he collected up the plates. "You know, Princess, if I didn't love you so much …"

"But you do," she stated with great assurance.

"But I do."

Alexa went inside to change into some cooler, lighter clothes that she'd brought with her, better adapted to the warmer weather. Once attired in miniskirt and a sleeveless top, she went back out to the terrace and rejoined Diana, who smiled and engulfed her daughter in another hug.

"Oh, it is so good to see you. I've missed you."

"I miss you too, _Mitera_. Are you sure you want to stay all the way out here? It's been almost twenty five years since Dad 'died', I'm sure people will have forgotten his face by now."

"Ah, but history has a much longer memory," Diana said apologetically. She wrapped an arm around her daughter's shoulders as they walked down the winding path to the gardens. "Besides, you know your father. If he did come back then he might very well find Gotham too hard to resist, and I've a notion you rather enjoy being its protector. Don't you?"

Alexa smiled and nodded. "I love it."

"Then believe me, you don't want us back in America with you. You and Thomas need your independence."

"You could still visit a little more often."

"We will then," Diana promised gently. "Sweetheart, are you still feeling lonely?"

"No," Alexa said. It was the automatic response, to prevent her mother worrying, but now she found it was actually true. She hadn't felt lonely since – She was suddenly made too warm, blushing, even. Since Kal had come into her life.

* * *

**A/N: Review please!**


	5. Crush

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! And thank you as well to DaisyJane for the beta :)  
**

_If you see something in my eye_

_Let's not over-analyse_

_Don't go too deep with it baby_

_So let it be what it'll be, _

_Don't make a fuss and get_

_Crazy over you and me_

_Here's what I'll do,_

_I'll play loose, _

_Not like we have a date with destiny_

_It's just _

_A little crush_

_Not like I faint every time we touch_

_Crush—Jennifer Paige_

**Chapter Five**

Unfortunately, Diana had noticed Alexa's suddenly rosy-red cheeks, and a glint of part-amusement and part-curiosity had come into her eyes. To prevent awkward questions—questions she would have no idea how to answer—Alexa said, "No, I'm not lonely. I've been spending more time with Barda recently, and other members of the League, and the shelter is coming along well. Finally."

That caught Diana's attention and had the added benefit of letting Alexa's embarrassment fade. She told her mother everything, enjoying the interest and absorbing the suggestions Diana had to make. She'd been a vital advisor to Alexa on this project, having set up several similar shelters while she'd been Wonder Woman. Or rather, while Wonder Woman had lived in Man's World.

Once they were in the gardens, it was easy to keep the ball rolling—Diana had been working extremely hard on them, and it showed. Apparently she did not need the blessings of Demeter to make things grow to full bounty. Every plant looked healthy, green and growing, yet nothing looking overly maintained or manicured, and still retained a degree of natural, wild beauty. And the roses were, as promised, blossoming. After they had been admired, mother and daughter moved onto the fruit trees. Chief among them was a magnificent orange tree, large and heavily laden with fruit.

Alexa floated up to the nearest branch and picked a ripe orange from it, then smiled as she got back down to her mother. "I cannot believe this is so big now. I remember the day we planted it."

Diana nodded, reaching out to brush a stray curl from Alexa's face. "It's not the only thing that's grown since then."

"True, but the tree seems more stable and mature than I feel."

"Oh, speaking of!" Diana then touched her own hair, tilting her head and parting it slightly. "Do you see that?"

"What?"

"That, there!"

Alexa peered closer into her mother's raven hair. Finally she saw something. "You mean – You don't mean that grey hair?"

"Yes! Do you know what that is, Alexa? That's my very _first_ grey hair!"

Alexa laughed, caught up in her mother's enthusiasm. It was easy to forget sometimes, because to her her mother had always been slowly ageing. But to Diana, everything to do with growing older was new, and therefore exciting. Since she had renounced her immortality for a chance to have a life with Bruce, each year had touched her in a way that it the previous five hundred had never managed. Diana now looked around forty years old—but still had a youthful vitality that made her as beautiful externally as she had always been. As far as Alexa was concerned, Diana was still the most beautiful woman in the world, and she always would be.

"I'm glad you're pleased with it," she smiled.

"Oh, I am. I'm just waiting for my first wrinkle."

The two women steadily made their way back up to the villa, finding Bruce now finished with the dishes—with the loss of only one plate. Diana went outside again to do some painting (one of many hobbies she now had the time for) and Alexa helped Bruce put the rest of the crockery away.

"Did your mother tell you I'm going to keep goats?" he asked.

She blinked. "Goats? Dad, why would you want to keep goats?"

"Part of the simple life—we have our own land, your mother grows vegetables figure animal husbandry is the next step."

Alexa tilted her head. "You're bored, aren't you?"

"_Extremely_," he sighed. "I know I shouldn't be, not with how long Diana and I had to wait for a taste of normality, or what she sacrificed to get it, but … I need something to do. It's not going to be Batman, and it's not going to be CEO of a multinational corporation—why not small scale farming? It's hard work, it's rewarding when you get crops and food at the end of it, and I think I'll get real satisfaction from it. Hence the goats."

"You've been practicing that, haven't you?"

"I had to. Can you imagine Terry's reaction?"

She laughed at that thought, and she nodded. "Well, it's a well put together argument, Daddy. So, when do the goats arrive and how many of them are coming?"

"Tuesday, and six at first. I'm building a paddock for them."

"Need any help?"

Father and daughter spent the rest of the day—with a break in the midday heat—putting together the fence of the paddock. Alexa had her side put up in a matter of minutes, then watched her father smugly.

"It would do you good not to use your powers all the time, you know."

She shrugged. "If it ain't broke …"

"Well then you could help me."

"Didn't you say you wanted to work hard?" she chuckled.

She moved over to him anyway, and took the next fencepost, pushing it into the ground with a couple of light taps of her fist. The wooden slats, she fixed to the posts by pushing the nails into the wood. Bruce went to put a gate together, so by the time he'd finished that, Alexa had a paddock erected that was about three kilometres square, with a gap about three metres wide for Bruce's gate. They fixed it in place together, then stood back to admire their handiwork.

"I think we make a good team, Daddy."

Bruce nodded and kissed her cheek. "That we do, honey. Come on, let's go back up to the house. Nearly dinner time."

They had a barbecue, grilling halloumi cheese, mushrooms, peppers and lamb over the coals and sending delicious aromas into the night air.

"So," Diana asked while they ate, "how is everyone? How are your brothers, your friends? How's the League?"

"How's the world?" Alexa asked with a small smile. "Well, let's see … Thomas is driving me crazy and I can't even try to keep up with his lady friends anymore, but I guess I have to give him his dues in running the company. During the day he's a very responsible young businessman. It's just at night he becomes an ass. Terry's almost fully recovered by now, though no chance he's ever patrolling again. Not as long as I have any say in it, anyway. And it's my city, right?"

"It was his city first," Bruce pointed out.

Alexa acknowledged that with a nod. "I know, but I honestly don't think Dana will let him, let alone me. Uh … Matt's fine—they finally found the mole inside Vice, arrested him. Finn Poole. He'd been a detective for twenty years, and Matt estimates he might have been responsible for perverting the course of justice on dozens of occasions. And all four of us are going to be at the gala next week for the Democratic Presidential candidate."

"Michael Archer."

"That's him. Dinner, dancing and speech-making. Apparently he's very good at all three though, and I've heard good things. But then you hear good things about every politician until they're elected to office, don't you?"

Diana sighed. "You're a little young to be so cynical, Alexa."

Alexa grinned. "The way I see it, I'm Greek, and we Greeks invented democracy. I think that gives me the right to be jaded."

"Touché."

"How's the League?" Bruce asked, who was still looking serious. "Superman?"

"You mean 'how is he settling in?' or 'is he being controlled by an alien this time?'" Alexa asked.

"Both."

"Well, I think he's settling in fine. He's attending every meeting, going on missions, training—mostly with me, but with others too. As a matter of fact we took down a kidnapper together last night." She smiled, then really hoped the sudden increase of blood to her cheeks wasn't noticeable. It probably wasn't; it was dark after all, and there were only a few candles to provide illumination. She cleared her throat. "And as far as I know, the only alien controlling him is himself."

"Good. Keep an eye on him."

"Seriously Bruce, Kal probably has the most integrity of any person we know. Maybe you should ease up," Diana said in exasperation.

"Loneliness can break even the strongest of men—I should know," he ended quietly and an intense look passed between her parents.

Alexa started to feel uncomfortable and cleared her throat. "So … umm …"

"Just make sure he is still the good man he used to be. I trust your judgement, sweetheart," Bruce told her.

Alexa couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. _Oh good. Now I have parental sanction to ogle. Like I needed an extra reason …_

They moved on to discuss Gotham and everything else going on in Alexa's life at the moment, then Alexa volunteered to do the dishes, as it was her turn now. After about ten minutes or so, she'd finished, and moved to go back outside. At the doors to the terrace, she stopped. Her parents were talking quietly, and she'd heard her name crop up. No one without her sense of hearing would have heard their conversation; they were whispering.

"So," Bruce said. "Are we worried?"

"About her attraction to Kal?" Diana asked. "No, I don't think we need be."

"No?"

"No. She's young, and it's just a crush. Young women have crushes, you know," Diana said, a smile in her voice. "Besides, it's Kal. What could happen? You trust him don't you?"

"Of course."

"Well then."

Alexa leaned against the cool glass of the door for a moment. _They're right, Alexandra_, she told herself firmly. _It is a crush, and absolutely nothing is going to happen. Get over it._

Unfortunately for their assumptions, neither Bruce nor Diana had ever thought of Kal as a sexual being. Alexa could not think of him as anything else. Nor could her dreams—she woke that night tangled in her sheets, sweating, unfulfilled and oppressed with desire. She got up after that, unable to think about a bed without thinking of activities other than sleeping. Just before dawn she went to her mother's temple, a little blue-roofed shrine at the other end of the island. She wasn't sure who to pray to: Morpheus, for a dreamless sleep, or Eros to remove this stupid attraction. Assuming it was Eros who had put it there. It seemed likely.

She prayed to them both, and went back to bed, managing a few more hours of sleep now that she had calmed herself down. She stayed with her parents for another two days before heading to Themyscira, and in that time, the subject of Kal was not brought up again.

* * *

_You've broken most of the links you had to humanity. It's going to take time to rebuild them._

Alexa's words had reverberated around Kal's mind ever since she'd said them. How _much _time was it going to take? He now knew he did want to re-establish himself with them, and that had by no means been an instant decision, because he didn't feel he was in any way hindered by his lack of interaction with humans. But dealing with the kidnapper, George Harrington, had been just one of recent examples that proved him wrong. Alexa had been vital in tracking him down, Kal fully acknowledged that, but there had been some things he'd not understood. For instance, why it was key to Harrington's kidnappings that he had worked on a horrible failure of one previously. He kept the children in relative comfort because of what had happened, and he didn't want a repeat. Hardly a difficult thing to grasp, and Alexa had seen it immediately. But then Alexa was human—at least, more so than him.

It had made Kal realise he didn't really understand them anymore. And that was a dangerous place to be. Not as dangerous as it could be, but he had the feeling he was at the top of a road he did not wish to go down. Equally, though, he couldn't go back. However he reconnected with humanity, it wouldn't be as Clark Kent. That man was, fortunately or unfortunately, dead—at least the external part of him. But there were things he could do without going in for the entire secret identity thing, like finding an apartment. He had credits saved; a _lot _of them, as he hadn't touched money in decades, either for food or living expenses. There wasn't as much as the Waynes had, but then there were very few who could say that, and it was by no means a modest sum. Certainly enough for an apartment in a nice part of Metropolis. But in order to do that, he had to officially exist.

"I believe Batman could be helpful to you in that aim," a voice said from behind him. When Kal turned around, it was to find J'onn just in coming into the room. "May I join you?"

"By all means. I'm sorry," he said, "was I thinking too loudly?"

"No—I have been listening," J'onn replied. "Forgive the intrusion, but I have been worried. I hoped you would come to the decision you have."

"There's no need to worry about me, J'onn."

"On the contrary, my friend. Before you rejoined the League fully, I believe many of your friends felt a great disquiet about your isolation, yet we were unsure how to reach you. I am very happy you've come back to us."

Kal smiled. "You have Batwoman to thank for that."

"Sometimes it is easier to accept the concern of a stranger rather than that of a friend," J'onn agreed.

"Not such a stranger anymore," Kal said softly. He imagined she of all people would be pleased to hear he was planning to get an apartment, a semblance of a human life.

J'onn's eyes gleamed briefly orange; the Martian equivalent of clearing one's throat, Kal remembered. Which meant inevitably that his thought about Alexa had softened further than he had meant them to. Again.

Thankfully, J'onn spoke again. "As I said, I believe Batman will be able to help you in creating a persona who is eligible to buy property. He had certainly been helpful to me."

And Thomas, fortunately, could not read Kal's thoughts with regards to his sister. The young Batman seemed surprised at the request, but agreed to help immediately.

"Step into my office, and we'll get started," he said jokingly, making a welcoming gesture for Superman to enter the Batcave. "So how detailed do we want your new fake life to be?" he asked. "Are we talking birth certificate, social security number, the whole thing—or just a bank account under a false name?"

"The bank account, for now. I have dormant accounts, but they're in the name of Clark Kent, and the money needs transferring."

"And do you have a name picked out for your new identity?"

"Tony Nipark."

Thomas put in the name, smirking. "Very clever."

"I'm good with words."

"Okay—new name, done, money transfer, done, and I'm guessing you intend to do something with all these credits?"

"Buy an apartment."

"In that case, you'll need proof of current address and proof of identity. Passport or driver's license?"

"Driver's license."

"Alright—just need a photo. Look into that camera."

Kal did so, and a few seconds later a photo of him flashed up onscreen. Thomas affixed it to the driver's license template and added in the other details, then put in a fake address for somewhere in Oregon onto a utility bill and printed both off. By the time Kal was ready to leave the cave, he had the start of a new life in his hands, and a borrowed suit of Thomas'. He couldn't exactly go into a real estate office dressed as Superman after all.

"Thanks for this, Thomas."

"Tom, please. And don't worry about it."

"I hope I didn't cut into your evening."

"Not at all. Manor gets kinda lonely without Lexie around. If she's gone for more than a few days then I usually use the company penthouse. It's big, but not as big as this place."

"When is she due back?" Kal asked, trying to sound as disinterested as possible.

"Couple more days I think. She said she'd 'swing by' Themysicra on her way back from Mom and Dad's, which means she'll be at least a day late. But there's a fundraiser on Thursday, and she has to be at that, no matter how long she wants to spend there. You might have to wait a while longer before you get your sparring partner back."

Well, that was so much the better. He might crave it, but less sparring meant fewer battles to control his own bodily reactions. He thanked Tom again and left Gotham. Two days later, he had successfully purchased an apartment on the seventieth floor of a block in Metropolis, large and spacious, with easy access from the air, as it had a balcony. It was really more space than he _needed_, but years of having the vast halls of the Fortress had taken some of the humility out of him, and he wanted the space to continue. The new apartment wasn't a place he'd be spending a lot of time in initially, but it was a base, a starting point. That evening he went up to the Metrotower to collect a few of his personal possessions; happily most of them were still in boxes from the move down from the Fortress, so it didn't take long to get everything gathered together.

As he was on the point of leaving, there was a knock on the door; he opened it to find Alexa standing there. She smiled. "Hey."

"Alexa! When did you get back?"

"Earlier today. Why do you look so stunned?"

"Tom mentioned something about you being unlikely to come back before Thursday. Apparently you're not normally eager to leave Themyscira."

"No, I'm not—but they're having some problems of a political nature at the moment; the senate has split. Nothing _Yaya _can't handle, but I didn't want to get in her way. So I told her I'd see her soon and came back. Mom and Dad send their love, by the way. You have an open invitation to visit any time you like."

"Good to know."

"By the way, Dad is going to start raising goats."

For a second Kal's mind couldn't process what she just said. "What?"

"I know, it's just so not my father but the poor man is bored," Alexa said with a laugh and Kal couldn't help but join her.

"I'll have go visit just to see Bruce herding goats," Kal chucked. "Besides he'll probably need some pointers."

"That's right, you grew up on a farm."

"A long time ago, yes," he concurred as memories of long ago surfaced.

"Smallville."

For a second it was as if his heart stopped. For that second he could see Lois so clearly in his mind it was as if she was standing in front of him. He shook his head to clear it and said, "Excuse me?"

"Smallville. That's the town you grew up in. I read it in your file," she said with a smirk.

"You're correct," he said with a smile. "It's good to have you back." The words slipped out of his mouth without a thought.

Alexa just gave him a beaming smile. "And since I'm going to have to deal with at least one politician myself tomorrow, and a lot of toadies, I came to see if you felt like blowing off some steam."

And with those words, thoughts of Lois were wiped from his mind. Sparring. She meant sparring, he told himself sternly. She meant absolutely nothing else. Didn't stop his body from reacting to the idea of Alexa's curvy figure pressed hard against him. "Sure."

As they walked down to the sparring suites, she said, "So should I tell my parents not to expect you for a while longer? Tommy told me about your apartment. Big step."

"It's one I needed to take though. You were right, Alexa. I let myself get too far from humanity. I'm not looking to re-join them completely. I don't think I could."

"It is difficult," she agreed.

"You _are _human though."

"A human who spent the majority of her life with her previously immortal mother and her miraculously de-aged father on an isolated island in Greece. Also who spent a lot of time among three thousand year old immortal warriors and who, since the age of four, has been blessed with powers from the gods themselves," she pointed out with a smile. "Believe me, your connections with Man's World are older than mine. At least you don't have to start from scratch."

"You have Tom with you though as well as Terry and Matt. You're not alone."

She reached for his hand, and said compassionately, "Neither are you, Kal."

Before he could say anything, she'd let go of his hand again and headed quickly to the turbolift. She studiously didn't look at him until they got to the sparring suite. Then she did her normal pre-sparring ritual, removing the top half of her suit. She had only spent three days in the sun, and yet her skin had been tanned to a deep golden most women would have paid very good money to have. It made her eyes even more brilliant than usual.

"I've been thinking," she said, putting her fabulously-smelling hair up, "do you want to up the ante a little?"

"What did you have in mind?" he asked, the question coming out a little bit strangled. From the amused look in Alexa's eyes, she knew exactly what suggestions _his_ mind was assailing him with.

"How do you feel about using more of your abilities?" she asked.

"Why?"

'I'm winning more often than I should be," she said bluntly.

"I thought we were pretty even actually."

"We were, but you've started to hold back."

He frowned. "I don't feel like I am."

"No, I know. Which is why I think using more of your abilities will even out the balance a bit more."

It was a good argument, apart from one flaw: Kal knew exactly why he was restraining himself, and it nothing to do with his strength or speed. It had everything to do with not losing the shreds of self-control that were stopping him pinning her against the wall here and now and –

"Kal?"

He nodded. "Alright."

She beamed. "Excellent."

They got started, and Kal tried to loosen up a bit. At one point, if he'd been fighting for real, he would have used freeze-breath, and then laser vision at another point. Both times he'd stopped, unwilling to take the chance Alexa might get hurt. The second time, she must have seen his eyes turn red briefly, and she paused in mid-air.

"Go ahead," she encouraged. "My bracelets are every bit as strong as my mother's—Zeus had them forged from his Aegis by Hephaestus. They were a present for my sixteenth birthday. I can deflect your laser vision and it won't impact the metal."

So, accordingly, Kal began to use more of his arsenal. Which worked fine … until he missed slightly, and got the pile of her batsuit in the corner. The material didn't catch fire, but when Alexa picked it up, there were several holes burned through it. In places the criminals would definitely notice, and in places he was trying desperately not to imagine.

"Sorry."

She shrugged. "Don't worry about it, I'll cope. Unless you have a spare shirt I can wear," she added.

She left him standing there open-mouthed. The picture which was walking around in his head—dressed only in one of his shirts—was far too strong to make go away. _Great. Because _that _was an image I needed … No laser vision next time_, he decided. _And maybe I'll try holding my breath, too._

She flirted thoughtlessly, artlessly. Age, degree of separation, seemed to mean nothing to her. He suspected, if he asked, she would answer that age had no bearing on two immortal beings. He didn't want to ask—but then he didn't want to be flirting back, either. He didn't want to think about the feel of her skin, or feel his stomach clench every time there was a picture of her in the tabloids. But it did. And in sparring matches it was even worse. Even focusing on the fact that she was the daughter of two of his closest friends was starting to fail. Instinct demanded as much bodily contact as possible, and while he was distracted and trying not to have his butt handed to him, lust crept forward. Especially on those occasions when Alexa had him pinned to the floor, or he had her against the wall …

Needless to say, she was driving him to distraction. It was a physical attraction the likes of which he'd never—well, he'd never experienced a purely _physical _attraction. Pure _sex _was utterly unknown to him. The act itself wasn't something he'd experienced in over fifty years, and with Lois it had never been just about the sex. It hadn't even initially started that way.

But when it came to Alexa, there was nothing remotely _un_sexy about her. Her hair, her voice, even her scent. He knew she didn't wear perfume when in business mood—criminals might smell it and know she was there—but thanks to his damn senses, her natural fragrance was almost overwhelmingly alluring. Floral, but … it had something of rain and lightning in it. Oh Rao...

* * *

"Decisions, decisions …" Alexa muttered, wandering through her closet and fingering elegant gown after elegant gown. Would this be easier if she actually cared?

The fundraising gala was tonight, and so far she had her hair done, her makeup finished and her jewelry picked out. Her shoes had to wait until she'd picked out the dress. She decided on a navy blue bias-cut dress, and teamed it with electric pink shoes. Not a look everyone could pull off, she thought. But she probably could. If she just –

"_Superman to Batwoman_."

She smiled and touched her com-link. "Good evening, Kal."

"_You wouldn't happen to know anything about these clothes hanging in the closet of my new apartment, would you?_"

She grinned. "A closet full of clothes huh? No, nothing at all."

"_I'm sure. Unfortunately I know it was you._"

"Alright, maybe it was me. Do they all fit? I had to guess your size."

He chuckled. "_Liar. Alexa, they're all tailored_."

"Fine, I let my eyes wander during our last sparring match." When there was a little stunned silence on the other end of the line, Alexa's grin got wider, but she kept her voice casual. "Besides, it was either that or I take you shopping, and I didn't think you'd be up for that."

That broke the tension, and he laughed. "_Uh, no. Took my cousin shopping once. Not an experience I want to repeat—I think there's a reason it's a woman's domain._"

"Probably," Alexa agreed. "You'll let me know if anything doesn't fit, okay?"

"_I will. You've got that fundraiser tonight haven't you? Want me to keep an eye on Gotham?_"

She shook her head. "You still haven't got it, have you, Kal? Gotham's fine now. We have one of the lowest crime rates in the country, and now that Matt's anti-corruption investigation has cleared out the rats in the force, I'm sure the police can handle it for one night."

"_That still sounds so strange to me._"

"Why don't you come by some time? We can patrol together and I'll show you." _Along with anything else you'd like to see, _she added silently.

"_I'd like that,_" he said quietly. "_Have a good night, Alexa. And thank you._"

"Goodnight, Kal."

She disconnected her com-link and then pulled her dress on. It was only when she checked her reflection in the mirror that she still had a silly grin on her face, and her entire posture screamed 'smitten'. Then the smile disappeared as she ground her teeth in frustration. "Great Hera, Alexandra, get a _hold _of yourself!"

There was a knock on the door, and her brother's voice sounded. "Lexie, you ready?"

"Yeah, you can come in, Tom."

He pushed open the door. "Who were you talking to?"

"Just myself. Being stupid about something."

"Wow, that's a rare sentence from you. Want to talk about it?"

"Not at the moment, no," she said apologetically.

Her twin accepted that without comment. "Ok then—shall we go?"

"By all means. Game faces on."

"As always."

They grinned twin blinding grins from the first second they arrived at the fundraiser. Matt met them at the door, Mira on his arm. He shook his head. "Look at the two of you. Gotham doesn't stand a chance."

* * *

**A/N: Review please!**


	6. New Kid in Town

**A/N: Review please!**

_Where you been lately?_**  
**

_There's a new kid in town,  
_

_Everybody loves him, don't they?  
_

_He's holding her,  
_

_And you're still around,  
_

_Oh, my, my,  
_

_There's a new kid in town,  
_

_Just another new kid in town.  
_

_New Kid in Town—The Eagles  
_

**Chapter Six**

Michael Archer was an attractive man, was Alexa's first thought. He was fairly tall, taller than her anyway, blue-eyed and silver hair. He could have been a bit more built, a bit more muscular—and Aphrodite help her, she couldn't help making comparisons—but he had an intelligent face. Apparently it was not just skin-deep. Both Alexa and Thomas had been seated at his table, along with Matt, the mayor and his wife, and a few of the other prominent business leaders in the city. Most of the power in Gotham was gathered around one table, and it seemed Archer was determined to charm them all.

He started with Matt, congratulating him on being the most successful police commissioner since Jim Gordon. He commended him on rooting out corruption and having one of the most effective police forces in the country. Apparently 'when' he was President, he intended to make Gotham an example for all other major cities to follow.

Matt seemed amused by the idea. "You'll be needing a lot of Batmen then."

Archer laughed. "Surely, Commissioner, you don't give the credit for cleaning up this city to a bunch of vigilantes! They're criminals, as much as any other lawbreaker," he added, oblivious to the inner glares now being concealed by three of the aforementioned 'lawbreaker's' children.

"Actually there was a point in our history when, without Batman helping the few honest police officers, Gotham could well have slid into self-destruction," Thomas said.

"Then you approve of vigilantism, Mr. Wayne?"

"I approve of anyone doing the right thing."

Alexa leaned forward. "There are some horrors ordinary men are incapable of facing. That's why we have heroes. It's why we have a Justice League. Or are you accusing them of being common lawbreakers too?" she asked coolly. "I do hope, Mr Archer, that if you are elected for office we won't see a return to the days of the Luthor administration."

"Believe me, Miss Wayne, I've no intention of persecuting superheroes. But do you not admit that there may be a difference between a metahuman dealing with threats like Darkseid and an ordinary human beating up ordinary criminals?"

"I admit it freely. The ordinary hero has to work harder, fight for longer, make arguably more of a difference to the lives of citizens for far less reward."

"And yet by most accounts of her, Batwoman is a metahuman."

"I'm sure she would agree with me."

Alexa heard the tiniest noise of concern from Matt, and felt Thomas' not-so-gentle warning kick to her shin. Immediately, she let her face relax into its normal charming smile. "But, as she's not here to ask, I guess I'll have to concede the point."

The conversation turned to business policy, which interested Thomas, and then to healthcare, foreign policy, and by the time the dancing started, Archer had been grilled on every aspect of his campaign. After they'd finished taking him apart—definite punishment for the unwitting insult to Bruce—Alexa handed him a makeshift towel, smiling sweetly. "Napkin, Mr Archer? You seem to be sweating."

He gave a self-conscious grin. "I have to admit, I wasn't expecting to be interrogated on every aspect of my manifesto. I'm afraid I lost my cool a little."

She softened a bit. "That's alright, Mr Archer. I –"

There was a moment of brief commotion on the dance floor; Thomas being slapped by a girl who seemed to be flame-of-last-week. When Alexa didn't move, Archer inclined his head curiously towards her twin. "Don't you want to see if he's alright?"

"He's fine," she assured. "It's a very regular occurrence."

"Really? Does he have commitment problems, do you think?"

She snorted. "Commitment problems, no. Keeping his dick in his pants problems, yes."

"Ah. I have a sister like that," Archer said.

Alexa chuckled a little and held up her glass. "Well, to our siblings."

"May they always be healthy and happy."

"Amen to that.'

They drank, and then Archer stood and held out a hand. "Would you like to dance, Miss Wayne?"

She nodded, putting her fingers in his. He was a good dancer too, and they fell into an easy, graceful step. Unlike most men Alexa danced with, he did not try to hold her too close, and she didn't feel the need to crush his fingers.

About halfway through the dance, Archer unexpectedly said, "You don't like me, do you, Miss Wayne?"

"What makes you think that, Mr Archer?"

"Michael, please. I had the impression I offended you."

"I didn't like you," she said honestly, having no intention of telling him to call her by her first name, "but then you started sweating."

"And that softened your opinion of me?" he laughed.

"Yes. I hate people who are too smooth. And I certainly wouldn't vote for a politician who never looked in danger of losing his composure."

"Why not?"

"It would be impossible to trust a person like that."

"Then you would trust a person like me?"

"My trust is hard-won, and I don't know you well enough."

"Then I would love to afford you greater insight into my character. How does dinner sound?"

She smirked. "We just had dinner, Michael."

"I mean just the two of us."

"Oh I see. And this is something you intend to do with all your voters?"

"Only the pretty ones."

"Ah—well then I have a long list of friends you could get started on."

"Actually I have a dinner partner in mind. I'm just waiting for her answer."

She smiled, and then dropped the flirting. She found she was actually tempted, but not enough to make all the complications worth-while. "I'm not sure that would be a good idea."

"Why not?"

"Because I seem to have just as many commitments as you do, and it would very quickly become impossible." _And because I haven't given up on Kal_, she added silently.

There was another burst of noise, and it looked as though Tom had been hit in the face again. Across the nose, which had started bleeding. Michael relinquished Alexa's hand with a rueful smile. "It seems I cannot argue with that. Do let me know, Miss Wayne, if you change your mind." He produced a card from his jacket and handed it to her. "This is my private number. I'll be in Gotham until Monday, and then New York."

She took it. "Goodnight, Mr Archer."

She went over to Tom, picking up a clean napkin up on her way and holding it to his nose. "Is it broken?"

"Nah."

"Well done, by the way," she said with a tiny smile. "You didn't even twitch."

"Getting easier to suppress my reflexes when it comes to letting women hit me, I guess."

"Want me to drive home?"

"Good idea."

They left, Thomas acting far drunker than he actually was, Alexa sliding behind the wheel of the classic Ferrari they had arrived in. Thomas' nosebleed had stopped before they left the city's outskirts.

"You were getting cosy with Michael Archer," her brother noted.

"Mmmm. I like him. And you can't beat a good silver fox. He's a good one." _Though not a _great _one…_

"Strange, isn't it?" Thomas asked casually.

"What is?"

"Well…that this predilection for silver foxes began around the same time Superman got back."

Alexa grinned in the dark interior of the car, and didn't deny it. When they pulled up at the manor, Thomas touched his sister's cheek. "Just be careful, Lexie."

Alexa got into bed about half an hour later with a deep sigh. Why should she be careful? She was being careful of Kal's heart—she had no desire to hurt him, by any means—but that wasn't what Thomas meant. But surely, after twenty three years of being at her side every single day, her brother knew her well enough to know she wasn't falling for Kal! She wanted him, yes, and she enjoyed his company and she wanted to bed him like there was no tomorrow, but that was about as far as it went, for now anyway. So why was Thomas worried about her?

Well, they were both going to the League meeting tomorrow afternoon, as was Kal, so she would just have to show him by her behaviour that there was no cause for concern. She reminded herself of what her mother had said too—it was just a crush.

Unfortunately, that only worked while she wasn't actually _with _Kal. Because when she was it was all she could do to function, let alone pretend she was calmer than she really was. Thankfully though, she was not Batman's daughter for nothing. And functioning meant a hell of a lot more for her than it did for most people.

Today's meeting was only the council members—there were general meetings of the League, and one had been held yesterday. Terry's seat had been split between Batwoman and her brother when he had retired from active duty, and while his advice was always studiously taken and considered, he no longer had a vote. The council now comprised of: Superman, the two Bats, J'onn, Warhawk, Cyborg, Barda and Green Lantern. When Alexa and Thomas arrived, only Barda and Warhawk were there, chatting quietly together. Rex looked better than Terry, but that might have had something to do with the fact that his helmet shaded his face and any lines thereupon.

"Hey stranger," Barda greeted Alexa. "Long time no see."

Alexa grimaced inwardly; that had more truth than she liked to admit. She had spent time with Barda recently, but nowhere near as much as she used to. "I'm sorry, Barda—I've been … busy."

"Yeah, I heard. Drug dealers, kidnappers, cleaning up the police."

"Well, that last one was Commissioner McGinnis. But I'm still sorry we haven't spent much time together. Dinner Thursday, my place?"

"Sure. Except we're ordering pizza."

Alexa frowned. "Pizza?"

"Yeah," Barda grinned, slinging an arm around Alexa's shoulders. "I remember what happened the last time you tried to cook anything."

"Harsh."

"But fair."

Set at ease, Alexa fell to chatting with her friend, and even managed not to falter when Kal entered and took his seat at the table. J'onn was the last one to come in, and he chaired the meeting.

"As you all know, yesterday was the League general meeting, and you all have copies of the agenda."

Alexa glanced down at the data pad in front of her, scrolling through it quickly. New watch rotations, the alterations to the team sizes for missions and schedule for the deputation to the UN General Assembly.

J'onn went through them all anyway, and try as she might, Alexa couldn't make herself pay attention. She knew all of this; she made a point to. She found herself drifting off. "The final thing for today: are we all in agreement …"

Alexa wasn't sure if Kal had been offered his previous position to be in charge of these meetings, but she wouldn't be surprised to learn he'd turned it down.

As if he'd heard her thoughts, Kal glanced over at her with a smile. She smiled back, and then simultaneously they remembered that the last time they spoke, she had more or less told him she'd been checking him out. Which she had been, but it was still a little embarrassing now.

"Batwoman? Superman?"

Like kids with their hands caught in the cookie jar, both Kal and Alexa jerked themselves back to the topic at hand. They seemed to have gotten away with it though, since J'onn only repeated the question in his usual monotone.

"Are you in agreement that all council members also undergo the psych evaluation?"

"Of course."

Alexa nodded.

"In that case I think we may conclude the meeting there, unless anyone has anything else to add?"

No one did, so they broke up. Thomas went back to Gotham—he had a date with a supermodel—and it was Barda's turn to be on call tonight. Alexa had no problem with being left alone with Kal, when she was.

"Coffee?" she asked. "Or a fight then coffee?"

He smiled. "Fight first."

They went down to the sparring suites together, and as they entered, Kal asked, "So how was the fundraiser?"

"Fine. Not as boring or as trying as I'd feared it would be, actually. I found myself defending my family's honour a couple of times."

"Wayne or Bat?"

"Bat. 'Common lawbreakers' apparently. Us metahumans, we're fine. But what my dad did, what Terry did … nope, that doesn't count for _anything _good."

"Who said that?" he frowned.

"Michael Archer."

His mouth curled. "You won't be voting for him then?"

"Oh, no, I will. The rest of his policies make a lot of sense, and he seems as genuine as it's possible for a politician to be. And he's a good dancer."

"You danced with him?"

"He asked me," she said, looking very directly at him.

What he might have said in response to that, neither of them ever found out, because the entire world started shaking violently. The floor was suddenly unstable, the walls moving crazily. Instinctively, both Kal and Alexa lifted into the air.

"Earthquake?"

"In Metropolis?"

"Stranger things have happened."

Alexa flew over to the control panel in the wall and input the unlocking code. The computer accepted the code, and made the correct beeping noise, but nothing happened. Frowning, she did it again—with the same result.

"What the hell …?"

"Why isn't it working?" Kal asked.

"I've got no –"

There was suddenly a blinding white light, so bright that neither of them could see anything. Alexa suddenly couldn't hear anything either. Couldn't move her limbs. Couldn't _feel _her limbs. She didn't panic—no point in that until she knew what she was facing, and not even when she did—and instead catalogued her options. Which pretty much amounted to waiting, at the moment. She hoped Kal was alright. She tried to call for him, but found she had no voice.

The blindness lasted one, two, three seconds, and then she was catapulted back into colour. And into … a bathroom. Definitely _not_ hers. She found her voice again, saying the tail end of the sentence she'd started. " – idea."

Movement caught the corner of her eye; she whipped around—a lot slower than she ordinarily would have done. The movement had just been her reflection, and it showed immediately why she was slower. She was wearing the most ridiculous dress. It was purple in colour, long-sleeved, went right down the floor with a lace collar and cuffs. She seemed to be wearing pearls, too, and her hair was piled up, pinned with a jewelled hair clip. She touched it dubiously.

"What in the name of Athena …?"

"Alexa?"

She crossed quickly to the door of the bathroom and opened it, finding Kal. He was also dressed oddly, but looked as relieved as she felt. "Are you alright?"

"Fine. You?"

She nodded. "Apart from the dress."

Finding they were somehow holding hands, Alexa let go and looked around.

"So," Kal asked, "any idea what just happened?"

Alexa walked over to the window and looked outside. "I think we just time-travelled. Look."

He moved over to her, looking out at the street below. The very not-twenty-second-century street. There were horse and carts clopping past, and elegant, old motor cars she'd only ever seen in museums. The women wore long dresses similar to the one she did now, and all the men she could see were in suit and tie, collars stiffly starched.

"Where are we?"

"Southampton," she answered instantly. "Around the turn of the twentieth century. Before World War One, anyway."

"How do you –"

She handed him the soap wrapper she'd taken from the bathroom. In embossed gold lettering read the words _Empire Hotel, Southampton. _

"Right, and how to you know _when _we are?"

"Judging by the clothes, we're in the Edwardian period. Circa 1910."

There was a knock on the door, and it opened to admit a smartly dressed man about Alexa's age, though his clothes were obviously not as high quality as the ones Kal now wore. He held out a newspaper. "Your morning paper, Mr. Chiltern."

They both stared at him, Kal automatically reaching for it. "Er, th-thank you."

"And ma'am, Ethel asked me to bring the last of your luggage down to the cars, so that it could be taken down to the docks as soon as possible, if that's alright?"

"Uh, of course," Alexa said. "It's in the bedroom." At least she really _hoped _it was in the bedroom.

Apparently it was, since the man, or valet as he appeared to be, went into the bedroom and came out carrying three enormous hatboxes. She craned her head to look at the label as it went past—Mrs Amelia Chiltern, State Rooms B12-17. At the door, the valet paused. "Departure is still set for noon, sir, and a car has been ordered for half past ten to take us to the docks."

"Er, right, yes. Thank you."

With a smile and a nod, the young man left, shutting the door behind him. "What's the date?" Alexa asked immediately. "On the paper."

"April 12,1912," he read. "And, Alexa…" He unfolded the paper fully, showing her the front page. Her jaw dropped. "Today's the day the _Titanic _sets sail."

* * *

**A/N: Review please!**


	7. Stuck in the Middle with You

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews! And it was DaisyJane's birthday recently, so many happy returns to her :) And thanks, as always**

_Yes I'm stuck in the middle with you,_

_And I'm wondering what it is I should do,  
_

_It's so hard to keep this smile from my face,  
_

_Losing control, yeah, I'm all over the place,  
_

_Clowns to the left of me,  
_

_Jokers to the right,  
_

_Here I am, stuck in the middle with you._

Stuck in the Middle with You—Stealers Wheel

**Chapter Seven**

The silence was stunned. Alexa took the paper from him and stared at it. She scanned through the article and then had a look at the paper itself; the quality, the typeface, the smell of it, the quality of the ink that came off on her fingers. That, combined with the world outside, was enough to convince her.

"Well, this is real. So presumably the ship is too."

"Time-travel. Oh joy."

"Hey, this is my first time—I figure I'm not a real member of the League till I've been to the past or the future." When Kal looked unamused, she said, "Okay, sorry. Bad joke."

"Just a little. Now, what are we going to do?"

"Well, 1912 … there's nothing else that's going to happen, not with such a global impact. The First World War isn't for another two years. So we can either get onto the ship, or we can stay off it and see if there's another reason for us being here. My vote is all for getting on, personally. There's apparently no other point to this little sojourn into the past. We've been given lives of people who have first class tickets, so if we go, at least we're going to be comfortable."

"Until it hits the iceberg and everyone plunges into the North Sea," Kal pointed out.

"Until then," she agreed.

He crossed to the window again. "Alright. Let's do it."

The car came right on time, in a shining and elegant dark green, the sound of the engines purring. They were not the only _Titanic _passengers to be staying at the hotel, and most of the others in first class seemed to know them. Neither Kal nor Alexa had any idea who they were, but Alexa was quick at finding out. The valet's name was Williams; Alexa's maid was Ethel, the driver Henry, and Mr—Dominic, according to his ticket—and Mrs Chiltern were travelling home to America after spending the winter in Europe. Alexa wasn't sure how long they were supposed to have been married, but it didn't seem to have been a honeymoon trip. Everything seemed to have been so carefully prepared, so that Kal and Alexa could just slot into someone else's lives, that it made Alexa sure it couldn't have been an accident.

It hadn't been impossible before—the earthquake might have been some kind of atmospheric disturbance, they may have somehow crossed into a parallel world or time stream … she had even considered that perhaps Kal had developed another power, or she had. It would not have been the first time someone had accidentally activated a previously-unknown ability. But if that was the case, then they would have randomly ended up in the past for no specific purpose.

Not that she was sure what the specific purpose to this was. Nor was she certain who had sent them here. Naturally, the first probability was –

"Any ideas yet?" Kal asked lowly, squeezing her hand to draw her from her thoughts.

"A few. It's possible that the gods could have brought us here. The luxury and wealth seems to indicate that—they're making us comfortable while we do … whatever it is we're supposed to do."

"Isn't that pretty obvious?" Kal asked, looking surprised.

"Not necessarily," she replied. She had her own reasons for hoping they would not be required to save the _Titanic_, but she couldn't tell Kal yet.

"What else could it be?"

"I don't know. I just think we need to wait and see where this takes us before we try to do anything. Time's a delicate thing."

"You don't have to tell me that," he muttered.

"I'm sure whatever it is will reveal itself in time. We're either here to facilitate or stop something, and as yet I don't know which it is. Do you have any ideas?"

"No."

"Well then." She sighed. "At least we have our powers, so we're not completely vulnerable."

It was slow progress moving through the hundreds of people milling about on the docks, but neither Kal nor Alexa really noticed. All their attention was focused on the metal monolith, towering above Southampton. Kal had not let go of her hand, and she was extremely glad about it, because a cold shiver was racing across her skin. This ship, her wrecking and legacy, and been a legend before either of them had been born. In this, there was no disparity between them. It was a ghost ship, full of living people.

The car came to a halt, and the driver and Williams got out. Kal had opened his door without thinking—she would need to talk to him about that—but Alexa remained where she was. Henry opened the door for her, and offered a gloved hand to help her out of the car. She took it, and got out with as much elegance as she could muster. She didn't thank Henry, as it wouldn't be expected at all, and would attract more attention if she did.

She turned to him. "Ensure the car is safely stored in the cargo hold, would you?"

He inclined his head. "Yes, ma'am."

Whether it was a guess or his natural character, Kal came over to her and offered an arm. She took it. "That is a ridiculous hat, by the way," he said conversationally.

She grinned. "I know. Brilliant, isn't it?"

"I'm surprised your neck can take the weight of it actually."

"Only just."

"They both looked again at the ship. "Well. Shall we?"

She nodded. "But you have to change your attitude. You're being too lower-class about the whole thing."

"Lower class?"

"Yes. This is 1912, Kal. You're first class. New money maybe, but you still have to change how you act to people. Walk around like the whole world belongs to you; be polite to servants, but not friendly; don't do anything yourself that someone else can do for you."

He frowned. "If I didn't know you so well I'd think you weren't serious."

"I am. I know it's against everything you believe in, but –"

"But in order to fit in, we have to do it."

"Yes. We're plutocrats, so you don't have to be snobbish. But you do have to be aware of the line which exists between you and the people of a different class."

Kal sighed. "Just when I was on the point of demolishing the barriers between me and the rest of the world …"

She squeezed his arm. "This isn't our world, Kal. And we won't be stuck here forever, I promise."

"I'll hold you to that."

The gangway loomed before them, but neither hesitated in walking up it. It was more than wide enough for them to move side by side and into the belly of the ship together, Williams coming up just behind them. When they got to the lobby—wood-panelled, electrically lit—they were met by smiling White Star stewards.

"Good morning, sir, madam. Welcome aboard the _Titanic._"

"Good morning, "Alexa said graciously.

Kal leaned over the desk. "Mr and Mrs Dominic Chiltern. My valet has our tickets. Williams?"

"Yes, sir."

Williams gave the tickets to the steward, who looked them over and then nodded brightly. "Of course. If you would care to follow me, Mr and Mrs Chiltern, and I'll escort you to your state rooms."

They followed him, smiling and nodding at everyone who smiled and nodded at them. Everyone around them was rich—Alexa knew that the _Titanic_ had a steerage class, but there was no sign, up here, that such a thing even existed. Luxury was everywhere, and when they reached the state rooms, luxury became opulence.

Everything was the finest silks, velvets, metals, marbles, everything had been polished until it gleamed to perfection, and the rooms were _huge_. There were two bedrooms, a large bathroom, a dressing room, a sitting room and a private promenade desk. As they wandered from room to room, the steward hovered a little nervously. "I hope everything is to your satisfaction, sir?"

Kal nodded. "Yes, I think so …" He motioned to Williams, who nodded and pulled out a wallet and gave the steward some money. When he was gone, Kal said to Alexa, "I think this is bigger than my new apartment …"

"I'm sure Dominic Chiltern has mansions," she smiled back.

She removed her coat and hat, and put them immediately into Ethel's waiting hands. Williams did the same for Kal, and Alexa turned to her maid. "Have you finished unpacking, Ethel?"

"Yes, ma'am; all your things are hanging up or folded away."

"Thank you. You may go and see to your own accommodation, if you wish. Return in time to help me dress for dinner."

Ethel dipped a curtsey, recognising the dismissal. "Yes, ma'am."

Taking the cue from his 'wife', Kal also dismissed Williams, and the two heroes were left alone. Alexa crossed to the promenade deck and looked out of the window, where the Atlantic stretched before her. All she could hear was the roar of the crowd though, on the other side of the ship. People cheering and waving to relatives they were sure of seeing so very soon, and the people left behind bid farewells to loved ones or simply came to exalt in the _Titanic's_ glory. Alexa didn't want to go and look at Southampton; at the people she might soon have to let die.

_Please_, she prayed silently, _don't make a coward out of me. Make it something else. _

Then there was another noise, booming above the people—the ship's horn. It burst out of the four chimneys and sent echoes racing around port. Pulled by tugs, the great ship began to slowly inch away from the port and into open water.

"Well," she said quietly, "too late now."

* * *

Kal put his hand on hers. "How long does the ship have?"

"Less than five days. April 16th, at about two in the morning. This ship's on borrowed time now."

They ordered some coffee from the stewards and then sat, exchanging theories. "Alright, so the gods are one possible reason for out time-travel, another could be … aliens, a culture that we haven't yet come into contact with, or at least one we don't know has time-travel technology."

Alexa nodded. "Or an individual with the technology. Obviously not Chronos; he's trapped in a time-loop, but it is conceivable that someone else could have invented a similar device."

"It is extraordinary we're here at all," Kal said. "More than two hundred years …"

"You've travelled centuries further before."

"Yes, but it doesn't feel like that now. I don't know whether it's because we're in the past rather than the future, or whatever, but something is different from the last time. Maybe it's just having a companion."

"Maybe."

After they'd finished coffee, Alexa went into her room and had a look through the clothes she was expected to wear. Kal was less concerned about that—he remembered clothes like these, or at least clothes similar enough. He was very glad they weren't expected to share the same bed—people of their class wouldn't, not every night—since just thinking the words 'Alexa' and 'bedroom' in the same sentence sent hot desire shooting through him, made him clench his fists hard enough so that he could feel his bones creak. He turned away from the bed and the phantom images of Alexa his imagination had put there, looking at anything and everything to distract himself. He found absolutely nothing at all, unfortunately. Apart from a small shaving mirror on a dresser, which only showed him his own reflection. That did help though. Because while he didn't look ancient, he certainly looked older than Alexa. It reminded him of every obstacle that existed between them. Certainly more than should be overcome. No matter how much he wanted her, any kind of relationship between them, however purely physical—and he had never been a guy to do purely physical very well—could only just end up in a bad place.

The dinner bell—or dinner fanfare, as it turned out to be—was played at seven p.m., to give the first class passengers time to dress for dinner. It was an activity almost as requisite as being in possession of a fortune. Kal's evening attire consisted of a tail suit and a crisp white shirt. Dressing with the help of a valet was an odd experience; he put pants and shirt on himself, but the bowtie was done for him, and Williams helped him on with his jacket, and then brushed imaginary dust from his shoulders. Mindful of what Alexa had told him, he didn't stop Williams, and thanked him casually.

"Is there anything else you need, sir?"

"No, thank you. Take the rest of the night off."

"Thank you, Mr Chiltern. I'll see you in the morning, sir."

It apparently took Edwardian ladies about the entire hour to get ready, because Alexa still wasn't, fifteen minutes before they were due to go in to dinner. Kal didn't mind—he was slightly dreading the experience. Pretending other people were beneath him was bad enough, let alone spending the entire evening with people who actually believed it.

A few minutes later, the door to Alexa's dressing room opened. "I'm sorry to keep you waiting, darling."

He stood, turned, felt his jaw drop and all coherent thought evacuate his mind.

Her dress was deep blue silk, Chinese style with silver thread embroidered all over it. Beads shimmered along the silver thread, catching the lamplight as she moved. Her dark hair was swept up, held in place by a jewelled hair clip in the shape of a butterfly, one lock of it hanging by her face. Long white gloves covered her hands, diamond bracelets set on each wrist to compliment the necklace which encircled her throat.

"How do I look?"

"Incredible," he breathed immediately, and without thinking. "I mean…" No, she really was- "You look beautiful."

A wide and dazzling smile spread over her features. "Thank you." She held out her hand. "Care to escort a lady to dinner?"

"I'd love to."

From the moment they entered the dining room, Alexa behaved like a duchess—she was beautiful, charming and so graceful it almost hurt to look at her. She eased into this world of glamour and riches, and fooled everyone right from the word go. Being a little on the outside, simply because he felt so out of place, enabled Kal to see more of what she was doing. She somehow controlled the entire table, but not in any malicious or obvious way. The men she charmed, the ladies she flattered—she kept the topic away from anything too specific, so that their ignorance of the time wouldn't show, yet at the same time kept the conversation flowing and interesting. She also found room to include him, make sure he was using the right set of cutlery at all times (there were about nine knives and at least seven forks). As the plates were cleared away between the main and the dessert course, she leaned towards him.

"Relax a bit. You're doing beautifully."

"I really don't feel like I am."

"Just remember one thing," she whispered, moving her mouth to his ear, even though they both knew she didn't have to.

"What?"

Her eyes were positively shining, even though her mouth wasn't smiling. "You're Superman, Kal." Quickly, she kissed his cheek and went back to her conversation with John Jacob Astor.

Kal felt better after that, at it became easier to square his shoulders, lift his chin and altogether become someone else entirely. Someone who belonged at this table with tycoons and aristocrats. When Alexa caught his eye again, she was beaming with pride. Kal winked and mouthed, _Nothing to it_.

After dessert came the coffees, then the gentlemen 'retired' for brandies while the ladies continued chatting for some time longer. Tiring of it, Alexa decided to fake a migraine.

"As much as I would delight in continuing our discussion, Baroness, I fear it may have to wait until tomorrow evening—I've a sudden headache developing."

Everyone made noises of polite sympathy, and the baroness was certainly taken in by Alexa's acting. Her grimace of pain did look genuine, to everyone except Kal. He immediately echoed the expressions of the others, and offered his hand. "Perhaps the taking of the night air would help, my dear."

"What a wonderful idea. Goodnight, ladies and gentlemen."

They left arm in arm and went outside into the cool evening. There were a few other people strolling around, most of whom wore coats and hats. They passed one of the lifeboats, and Alexa shivered, seeing _RMS Titanic _stamped everywhere.

Mistaking it for the cold she didn't feel at the moment, Kal removed his jacket and put it around Alexa's shoulders. She smiled and tried not to make it obvious that she was she was enjoying being surrounded by the scent of him. Not that she hadn't before, of course, but if the opportunity was there …

"So how was I?" Kal asked.

"Oh, you were passable I suppose."

He cocked an eyebrow. "Just passable, huh?"

"Alright. You were magnificent. Hardly looked like new money at all."

If things could have stopped there and Kal hadn't needed to ask, and he'd just let himself bask in her admiration, then the evening might have been almost perfect. But when they got back to the state rooms, he had to ask.

"So. How are we planning to stop it?"

Alexa got up and poured herself a brandy, then sat down without sipping. She removed her gloves, then let her hair down. Kal frowned. Why was she avoiding the question? He sat opposite her. "The simplest way I see it is just to fly ahead of the ship and move the iceberg out of the way."

"There are hundreds of bergs out there, Kal."

"If we don't do it until the 16th, then we'll just move the one the ship is heading straight for," he countered.

When she said nothing in response to that, he leaned forwards. "Alexa, what's wrong? You're holding something back."

She sighed, then met his eyes briefly. "Kal, we can't."

"Can't what?"

"We can't move the iceberg. And we can't save this ship."

"What? Why not?"

"Because whatever we're here to do, it can't be that."

"Why _not_? Alexa, we have an opportunity to save fifteen hundred lives here. We can't ignore that."

"We have to."

"But you and I—either of us or together—could lift this ship to safety. We could _fly _her to New York. And we could save everyone."

"I know," she nodded. "But then what? It's not just lives we'd be changing, it's _history. _The _Titanic _goes down in infamy, and it's not up to us to change that."

"Then what is the point of all this?" he demanded. "What's the point of a Justice League at all if we let people die when it would be so simple to save them?"

She sighed, sat down and buried her head in her hands. "Kal, I can't yield to your experience on this, I'm sorry, but … It's not just a bunch of strangers we'd be saving."

"What do you mean?"

"Has Dad ever told you where his money comes from?" she asked. "I mean his inheritance?"

He shook his head. "Trade, shipping and landholdings?"

"Yes but my great-great grandfather had suffered through a couple of business panics or recessions. His shipping business was heavily in debt. He was going have to sell most of his land holdings to try and save his business. But his brother died. And he died on the _Titanic_, his only son with him. My great-great grandfather inherited _his_ money, and it enabled him to save the business." She looked up at him. "If my father isn't in a position to finance the Justice League, there _is_ no Justice League. My parents never meet, I'm never born."

Silence fell as he struggled to think of anything to say. Finally Alexa stood. "We can save fifteen hundred lives now, Kal. But we might be dooming the whole planet later."

Leaving him in silence, Alexa went into her bedroom and shut the door. It was a very long time before he moved.

* * *

**A/N: Well, I hope that cleared some things up. Or at least kept your appetites whetted :D Review please!**


	8. Happy Now

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews! Sorry this chapter is late - we moved house this week, and the internet didn't get set up till today. Thanks to DaisyJane for the beta!  
**

_I'm at the mercy of unwanted emotions,_

_Where nothing matters beneath my thoughts,_

_Beneath my thoughts is where it happens,_

_Super heavy elements, _

_Embrace me, _

_Super heavy elements, _

_Replace_ me,

_Was it a positive experiment,_

_To be indefinitely decadent._

Happy Now—Take that

**Chapter Eight**

Eventually, Kal went to bed, though he didn't sleep for another few hours. It did seem, on the surface, to be an impossible situation. But the more he thought about it, the more clear-cut their choice became. He had been right—the Justice League was there to save lives. That was their whole purpose, from beginning to end. They put their own existence on the line in order to protect civilians, to trade themselves if necessary. If one hero had to die to safeguard fifteen hundred people, then so be it.

Until Kal remembered who that hero was going to be. There was no possible cause good enough for Alexa to kill herself—except maybe this one. He didn't consider for a second it was self-preservation fueling her objections; Alexa was much braver than that and he had seen her put her own life in jeopardy without a second thought time and again. Her concern came from knowing the world as a whole (more specifically their world) might be put at risk. Was it really that simple though? No Wayne money, no League? He didn't want to believe it, but it did seem true. Which only left them with allowing the ship to sink and far, far too many innocent people to die.

He looked at Alexa through their bedroom walls and the interconnecting bathroom. She was kneeling, her eyes closed and mouth moving in rapid prayer. He caught Athena's name more than once. Goddess of wisdom. So she didn't know what to do either. He debated getting up to discuss it some more with her, but at the same time he didn't want to interrupt her. It looked like a very private moment. It had been a long time since Kal had prayed, or even since he could call himself a religious man. It hadn't been a sudden absence of God in his life, no angry feeling of betrayal. Maybe he was just too jaded for that kind of hope anymore. Maybe faith was for the young, or the close too death. Kal was old, and about as far from dying as he had ever been. He left Alexa to her prayer, and fell asleep a couple of hours before dawn with her mutterings still going on. Perhaps sleep was needed, to help clear his head and find a solution, since it was unnecessary otherwise.

He woke again when the noises changed, or more specifically, when he heard the splash of water. Knowing where he was, that was obviously cause for alarm, and he woke with a start. The sound was coming from the bathroom though, and that, along with the smells of lavender and jasmine, calmed him completely. There was a chink of golden light where the door was slightly open, where Alexa had forgotten to close it. She would notice him closing the door, no doubt, but equally she couldn't continue bathing with it still open. He got out of bed and headed for the bathroom. Looking was not an option. He wouldn't do her the dishonour. Even if she was wet and naked and only feet away, he wouldn't. He wouldn't. Not a chance. Not even the fraction of a …

At what point he changed his mind, Kal wasn't really sure. But at some point in watching her bathe, Alexa was suddenly worth more than fifteen hundred lives. If only for the fact that he would never see that mesmerising action again if that happened. The sponge went down into the water, up to her shoulder, warm water squeezed down the length of her back, stroked slowly over her shoulders and arms. His hands tingled to take over the action. When he felt the rest of his body responding to that desire, the spell was broken.

He turned and fled outside, no other word for it. It took a good ten minutes to master himself. And then the regret, the shame and the guilt set in. Oh God, the guilt. It wasn't guilt over Alexa—she knew what she was doing, and there was nothing wrong with it. She wanted him as much as he wanted her. No, the guilt was over the other woman. The other woman he wanted. The other woman he had always wanted. The other woman who was long-dead.

Footsteps approached; Williams. He was surprised to find his employer up so early, no doubt. "Are you alright, sir?"

He nodded. "Thank you, Williams. Just thinking about my wife."

"She's a beautiful lady, sir."

"Yes." _Yes, she was. _

God, he missed her. He missed her breathing and her voice and the way her violet eyes would crinkle at the corners when she laughed. Hadn't he promised to love her forever? And how could he claim to love her _and _seriously consider sleeping with another woman? It wasn't fair to either of them. Alexa deserved someone completely devoted to her—and he never would be. She'd always have to share his heart. And that was fair on no one.

* * *

She'd known he was watching her by the prickle. Normally, it was cold one, crawling down her spine when an enemy had their eyes on her. The instinct had saved her life more than once. Now, though, the prickle was warm, and then hot—and going the opposite way. And it wasn't of trepidation, but arousal. Goddess, it had been so long since she'd experienced true _passion_. She had needs, like everyone else, and normally she took care of them in the same way—she had a few fuck buddies floating around the country, depending on what city she was in at the time. But being with someone like him…the idea made her want to turn around and invite him into the bath with her there and then. The few times before she'd encountered anything similar to the crazy heat which existed between them, the sex had never failed to be amazing. But with Kal … it wasn't so much heat as a forest fire.

And Alexa was very ready to get scorched.

It didn't surprise her Kal wasn't. Aside from the factors of her parents, her age...she wasn't sure he'd ever experienced—or knew what to do with—electricity like this. She knew he'd been married once, too, so perhaps that still preyed on his mind. Especially with what her father wrote about Kal's marriage...he clearly understood love. But crazy lust...still, she did what she could to ensure he was never less than smoldering. Once, he'd been made awkward by her flirting—now he freely flirted back. When they sparred she was almost completely sure that the moniker 'Man of Steel' no longer applied to just his impervious skin.

But apparently he wasn't ready to give in just yet. Well, that was fine—Alexa always had been a good hunter.

"Ma'am, are you finished?" Ethel asked, after knocking softly on the door.

Alexa finished belting her robe shut. "Yes," she called, pulling out a towel and rubbing it over her hair.

"Which dress would you like to wear? I'll lay it out for you."

"The blue," Alexa said, picking out a colour at random.

"Linen or damask, ma'am?"

"Is it cold outside?"

"It is a little … brisk."

"Then the damask."

Alexa pulled on her undergarments, then let Ethel help her on with a corset, though thankfully she didn't pull it too tightly. Alexa still found herself praising those feminists who had thrown off constrictive clothing like this as she was laced up thoroughly. Ethel fixed her hair and she went out to the sitting room where Kal was waiting. They were served breakfast, neither of them mentioning anything about him watching her bathe, or her practically inviting him to do so. The idea and experience had brought her pleasure, but now was not the time to be discussing it. She hadn't forgotten their argument the night before, and she knew they still needed to reach a consensus, arrive at a plan of action.

When they were alone, she broached the subject. "I think we should look for other reasons for us to be here."

"I agree."

"Yes, but –" she stopped. "You do?"

"Yes. If you're right then saving the ship ends the Justice League and your life. I'm not prepared to let either of those things happen, and I don't believe whatever sent us here is either. Therefore there must be something else going on here that's hidden. We need to find it."

She nodded. "That's what I thought."

"Then do you have any idea what we're looking for?"

"No. At the moment, anything suspicious. Any passenger disappearances, engine malfunctions, crew acting strangely … anything out of the ordinary."

"Alright. And how are we supposed to do that while fitting in with the idle rich?"

"At night, primarily. If we can get away at any point during the day and have a little hunt around, then so much the better."

"Alright, I'll keep an eye out. And an ear," he said.

She smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Kal."

"There's no need to thank me."

"Yes, there is."

She left it there, and they spent the rest of the morning marshaling a plan. They would talk to and investigate as best they could the first class passengers, and see if they could get hold of blueprints of the ship. That was quickly taken care of; a walk around the deck had led them to the second mate, Mr Lightoller. While Alexa was charming the socks off him (though not quite literally), Kal vanished for ten seconds to ransack—carefully—the captain's quarters looking for some blueprints. When he reappeared, there was a very slight cylindrical bulge in his jacket. Then they had lunch, and managed to find a spare half-hour to look through the ship and find any areas anyone could hide anything. There was mainly the cargo hold, and some of the levels below steerage class—E deck.

Over the next few days (and nights), the two of them searched up and down the ship diligently. They looked for any technology out of place, any kind of contraband and found nothing. Admittedly, it was a big ship, but between the two of them they would have found rat trying to be surreptitious. And they had found all the rats.

What else they had found was absolutely nothing to suggest anything out of the ordinary. It frustrated Alexa no end; if this were Gotham, she would have an entire network of informers, willing to tell her anything, but now if she wanted to find anything out then she had to use old-fashioned techniques, and try to charm secrets from lips. So far she had uncovered three cases of corruption, two of illegal business dealings and that one of the largest fashion houses in Paris was about to go under. But nothing that was unusual or backed up her hypothesis that they weren't here to stop the iceberg. Kal must have noticed their lack of success, she knew he must have, but he didn't say anything. In fact he seemed determined not to. She knew he left most of the night each night, and searched up and down the ship. Alexa didn't sleep while he was out of the state rooms, and just paced, trying to think of anything and everything else.

By the night of the fifteenth, she was convinced within herself that they _were _here to stop the _Titanic_ hitting the iceberg. And she was also sure that Kal wouldn't let her. So now, the question became: How did she knock out a six foot four Kryptonian with nothing but some sleeping pills Amelia Chiltern apparently took, manufactured in 1912? Alexa was sure that it would work—but she would need about seventeen hundred of them. Which she didn't have. And which she couldn't possible force-feed Kal.

She let out a groan of frustration and started pacing again. If she only had her equipment! Following Bruce's word of caution when Superman had reappeared, Alexa had developed a compound that actually _would _work, with just a pinch of it dissolved in some kind of drink. Quite a clever little paralytic, if one she'd hoped never to use. And now she needed to, and she had no access to it. She went into the bathroom, and randomly opened the cupboards, pulling out anything and everything she could get her hands on and then disregarding them all almost instantly. Until her fingers paused. Because there was a little round pill box that she was sure had not been in there yesterday, or even that morning. It had a small bat, embossed in silver, on the lid. She opened the lid with a shaking hand. Inside was a quantity of faintly pink powder. She sniffed; there was an aroma of violets, very faint. The paralytic.

She closed her eyes and looked up. "Thank you," she whispered.

She slipped the pill box into her pocket. Now she had her method, she just needed the opportunity to use it. Tomorrow. It would have to be tomorrow. At the last moment. She smiled a little ruefully. At least she wouldn't need to worry about him forgiving her. And she now knew it had been the gods who had sent them here. No one else could have transported the drug back two hundred years to her precise location. It gave her a little hope for herself too. The gods loved champions who laid down their lives for people. If she wasn't completely wiped from existence, then she might end up in the Elysian Fields, and there were worse places for one's soul to spend eternity. She might even be allowed to view humanity, to look on her parents and friends. Watch someone else be a comfort for Kal. And she could bear that easily—just as long as there _was_ someone to comfort him.

Finding she was blinking back tears, and not fully understanding them, Alexa left the bathroom, her mind working on the details of her plan. She was interrupted, though by Kal coming in, looking incredibly relieved about something.

"One of the passengers in third class has been murdered. Which is obviously a terrible, terrible thing," he added quickly.

"Any suspects?" asked Alexa, leaping to her feet.

"No, the Master-at-Arms has only just found the body. Apparently it was dumped in the cargo hold—there's a theory that they couldn't throw it overboard."

"Alright, I need to see the body. Let me change into the least-ridiculous of my clothes."

When she had changed, into an outfit designed for riding, they moved through the ship as surreptitiously as possible. Too many questions would be asked of two first class passengers sneaking about at three in the morning, so they kept to the darkness and shadows. Not an easy task when the ship was so brilliantly lit—but then Alexa wasn't Batwoman for nothing. Before long (and with only a few lightbulbs being blown out by Kal), they reached E deck. It was very quiet down here, below the water line, and cold, damp.

"We'll have to break the lock," Kal said, his hand already on the handle to do just that.

"Wait. Old tricks are the best tricks." She pulled a hairpin from her head and inserted it into the lock, maneuvering it carefully until there was a soft click from the lock. She grinned up at Kal. "I was made for a life of crime."

"Apparently so."

The body was male, aged around forty, eyes wide and staring when Alexa pulled the sheet back. She felt no squeamishness; she was no pathologist, but she often had to play the initial part of one in her line of work. "Cause of death, multiple stab wounds to the thorax and abdomen. They look to have been made by the same knife … defensive wounds," she said to Kal when he picked up the man's arm to look at the cuts and scratches on it. "He was trying fend off his attacker. Not that it did him much good." She took the arm from Kal, feeling the resistance when she tried to bend the elbow, though the fingers were pliant. "Rigor mortis isn't yet fully established … I'd say he died between six and eight hours ago, at a guess."

"His personal items are over here."

She moved over to Kal and shifted through the little pile of belongings. There was a small notebook, a wallet and a change purse—each with nothing in them—a chain and a pair of wire-rimmed glasses. She picked up the chain. "Keys?"

"More likely a pocket watch," Kal said.

"So why leave the chain?" she mused. "Is there any evidence of him wearing any jewelry?"

"Tan line on the pinkie of his right hand."

She raised an eyebrow. "'Pinkie'? Haven't heard anyone call it that before …"

"Yeah, well, it was all the rage about fifty years before you were born," he smirked. "He's also wearing a crucifix."

"Cheap or expensive?"

"Expensive."

"Interesting. But all this money and his watch are gone—well, at least that tells us something about his killer."

"Random, crazed robber?"

She shook her head. "More likely a superstitious man who took what he saw as his due." She opened the notebook, flicking through the pages. "10s 5d on _Sudan Sahara_ … 9 pounds 12s on MacCurren to win … He's a gambler. Look—he writes the odds and the bets he's placed here, and then records his winnings or his losses: meticulous, but compulsive."

"That explains that missing valuables," Kal remarked. "Whoever he owed money to took it. And if he resisted then he would have precipitated a struggle and he died that way."

"Exactly." She eyed him. "You look disappointed."

"No, it's just … do you really think this is what we're here for? If he was dead with no probable cause then yes, but this is obvious."

"So because the death is ordinary, it's beneath our notice?"

"You're twisting my words."

"No I'm not. That is essentially what you mean, isn't it? You think we're here for something extraordinary, and this is the opposite of that. But you're missing the flip side: it might not matter _what's _happened here, it might matter who it happened to. We don't know who this man is and we don't know if this is his destiny, to die here. If it isn't then Fate could have been disturbed, and that's what we're here to correct."

"Alright. So who are we looking for?"

"Possibly a book-maker, or the banker of a fight. The organiser. The reverence for the crucifix suggests Christian, Catholic. We might be looking for Italian, or Irish."

Kal looked sceptical. "Looking for an Irishman aboard the _Titanic_. Well, that shouldn't take long."

"Are you Superman or aren't you?"

"Yes, ma'am," he responded sarcastically.

She sighed. "Sorry, Kal. But that is the most likely profile, and we don't have time to interrogate people the old-fashioned way. If you have a better idea, then please, tell me."

He nodded. "I'll look through the hull. What am I looking for?"

"There might still be some kind of betting going on—the last wager our victim made was yesterday. So bare-knuckle boxing, maybe, anywhere they could use for that. I'll look for people with bruises on their faces, bandages on their hands."

"And how are you going to do that, dressed for polo?"

"I was hoping this terribly gallant gentleman I know might oblige me."

Kal's eyes sparkled. "He might."

He vanished for a second, then reappeared, holding a bundle of clothes a lot less luxurious than the ones she was currently wearing. Much more appropriate. She took them from him with a smile. "Thanks."

"I'll go and scan the ship. Rendezvous?"

"Dawn, in our rooms. Good luck."

"You too."

* * *

**A/N: Review please!**


	9. Innocent Eyes

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews! And thank you, once again, to the marvellous and brilliant DaisyJane. **

_I miss those days and I miss those ways,_

_When I got lost in fantasies,  
_

_In a cartoon land of mysteries,  
_

_In a place you won't grow old,  
_

_In a place you won't feel cold,  
_

_And I'll say,  
_

_Seems I'm lost in my reflection,  
_

_Find a star for my direction,  
_

_For the little girl inside,  
_

_Who won't just hide,  
_

_Don't let me see mistakes or lies,  
_

_Let me keep my faith in innocent eyes.  
_

Innocent Eyes—Delta Goodrem

**Chapter Nine**

He disappeared again, though she knew he was going outside the ship, to fly alongside it. Sure enough, a moment later a Kal-sized shape glided past the porthole. Alexa changed into her working class garb and folded her other clothes into a bundle to carry under her arm. She locked the door behind her and set off. Truth be told, she was almost as unconvinced as Kal. It seemed unlikely the gods would have sent her the paralytic if she would not need to use it. But there was always a chance, she reasoned.

She set off through the ship, and did not pass unnoticed; there were too few people around for that, but Alexa knew the art of staying unnoticed. At the end of one particularly narrow corridor she came across a man. There was clearly no room for them to pass, so she waited. He appeared to be so drunk he didn't notice her at first, which gave Alexa more than enough time to notice everything about him. He had a broken nose, dirty bandages on his hands, and two magnificent black eyes. He swayed into his end of the corridor, then seemed to notice she was a woman. He swayed backwards.

"Sorry, sweetheart. After you."

Strong Irish accent. When he'd left her, she waited a little moment and followed. He continued weaving around, and she was sure he would not have noticed her trailing him if she was an elephant, but she didn't take any chances either. It wouldn't be the fist time a suspect had faked inebriation. She flowed him to D deck, where he entered a room and was greeted by a very angry Irish woman, who decided it was a good idea to rain more blows down on his face.

"Argh! For the love of God, woman, leave off would ya?"

"You been fightin' again haven't ya? Damn you, Matthew, you know I ain't got the time to fix you up every time—how much did you lose this time?"

"I won, Mary. Might have to wait a bit before I get paid though –"

"And how long is that? We've only got two more days before we reach New York!"

"I'll get it tomorrow! There's only so many places McCarthy could go, and if he doesn't gimme the money I'll just find him and beat it out of him!"

"I've a good mind to go down to 142 and beat it out of him myself!" Mary snapped back.

Alexa smiled and left them to it. D deck, 142. She went to it and knocked smartly on the door three times. Someone opened it, and blinked at her. Another man who was bruised and battered.

"Yeah?"

"Hi. I'm looking for McCarthy?"

Behind the boxer—she could see his hands—stood a man who had been lying down on a bunk bed. He looked her up and down appreciatively. "You here to place a wager, darlin'? 'Cause I've got one or two bets we could make, the two of us."

"Afraid not," she smirked. Before she flicked him square on the forehead. He flew backwards and into a wall with a loud clang. The other man reacted much as anyone would: he swore loudly and pulled out a knife. Alexa was willing to bet it was the same blade that had killed her corpse. When he stabbed, she dodged, putting one hand behind his elbow and then slamming her other hand on the other side. The bone shattered with an audible noise. The man opened his mouth to scream, but Alexa had already let go of his arm and clamped her hand over his mouth. She knocked him out in much the same way she had his friend. She used the bedsheets to secure and gag them.

"Okay, boys, let's see what you've got for me …" she muttered, rifling through their pockets.

On McCarthy, she found the missing pocket watch, signet ring and money. It would be impossible to prove the money belonged to her dead man, but the back of the pocket watch was engraved with a name—James Feron—and the signet ring would fit, she was sure of it. As for the other man, the one she was sure was the actual murderer, his fingerprints would be all over the knife. It was not possible to prove that this was _the_ knife (not in this time), but hopefully a decent medical examiner would pick up the truth.

It took her about ten minutes to move both men to just outside the master-at-arms' room, and then another thirty to get back to B deck. This close to dawn, people were starting to stir. When she got there, Kal was in the sitting room, pacing.

She smiled. "You knew I was fine."

"Something can always go wrong. _Now _I know you're fine."

She squeezed his hand and moved past him into her bedroom, quickly changing into her nightdress and a robe. Then she went back out to join him. They sat on the opposing sofas, looking at each other.

"So … how long do you think we have to wait?"

"To be sent home? I don't know," she sighed. "It depends."

"On if that's what we were meant to do," he nodded. "I'm sure it is, Alexa. If the gods did sent us here, then we've pleased them—although I'm not happy I'm having to—and maybe they just want to reward us now."

She bit her lip, wanting to believe him and unable to. "So we just get to sleep now, and enjoy our last day on the _Titanic_?"

"Exactly."

They only got a little sleep before Ethel and Williams came to wake them, and spent the day in very different moods. Alexa was worrying constantly, and Kal was stopping himself completely from worrying at all. It was difficult though, especially as the day wore on, and the ship continued steaming her way to disaster. But he stood by what he'd told Alexa. If morning turned into afternoon, and afternoon into evening, then so be it. There was no way he was making that choice. No way he was letting Alexa. If he had to protect her from herself then he would. Of course, he hadn't reckoned on Alexa protecting herself from him protecting her. He hadn't thought it necessary—there was nothing she had access to that could hinder him, short of outright attacking him. And he was confident that she wouldn't do that.

At dinner that night, she looked as unutterably beautiful as she had at all the other dinners. Everything tonight was surreal though, _un_real to both of them. All these people eating and drinking and laughing were about to be fighting for their lives. At some point, one of them reached for the hand of the other, and didn't let go. It was past midnight when they got back to their state rooms, and finally alone.

Alexa walked to the gramophone, sitting in the corner, and turned it on, lowering the needle carefully. Scratchy music flowed from the speaker, filling the room. Then she looked at the drinks cabinet. "Goddess, I need a drink."

She poured them both one, her back to him. "I'm sorry I put you in this position, Kal."

"You didn't put me in any position. Your gods did.'

"Still. I'm sorry," she said, handing him a whisky.

They toasted each other silently, and Alexa threw hers back in one go. Since it would have no effect on him anyway, Kal did the same. Alexa stared broodingly into her empty glass. Conflict was obviously raging in her—to stop it, Kal stood up.

"Alexa?"

"Mmm?"

"Dance with me?"

She looked up. "What?"

He took her hand and pulled her close into him. "I'm asking you to dance with me."

She smiled and nodded, relaxing into him like she'd wanted nothing else all day. They started turning slowly on the spot, swaying from side to side with the music, but not really following any kind of steps. She fit perfectly, he noted. Head against his shoulder, the fragrance of her hair alluring and the long dark strands brushing against his hand—her arm on his back and his comfortably around her waist, matching each other on every point.

"I think …" Alexa began.

"You think?"

"I think I would have enjoyed it. Being on the _Titanic _with you. If it wasn't, you know … the _Titanic_."

He smiled. "Me too," he responded, without thinking.

She looked up, into his eyes, her own lightening. It was obvious she wanted him to kiss her, and Kal suddenly felt incredibly felt incredibly clumsy. Not only did he want to, it was probably expected. They were dancing, there was a strong, attraction between them. What else could happen next? He kicked himself inwardly for reacting so slowly—then realised he wasn't actually reacting at all. And he couldn't now. From leaning into him, he was now resting most of his weight on her.

"Alexa, I –"

"I know. I've done it," she said calmly, before manoeuvring him back to the couch, and laying him on it.

"Why?" he demanded, willing himself to move. Not one limb responded to the command.

"We got it wrong, Kal. Solving that murder hasn't done anything—we would have been sent home by now. That leaves moving the iceberg and saving the ship. I knew you'd try to stop me, so …"

"Alexa…"

She nodded apologetically, and then moved over to him. "I'm sorry, Kal. But I'm going to save this ship. You were right, we have a duty to, and by ignoring that I am a hypocrite. Don't worry – the paralysis will wear off in about six hours; I only need about an hour to get to the iceberg and move it out of the way."

"Alexa, you'll be effectively killing yourself."

She shrugged. "Then I'll be dying saving fifteen hundred lives. I can think of worse ways to go."

"But what about your family—the finances that the League needs –"

"If I've learned anything being part of the League it's that the universe has a way of correcting the balance. If the League is meant to be, then fate will find a way of bringing it about. Who knows, it may still find a way of bringing _me_ about." She smiled. "I'm very glad to have known you, Kal. And I hope I'll know you again at some point." With that, she kissed his cheek and moved to the open window, through which poured a freezing Atlantic wind. "Wish me luck!"

"No. Alexa, don't be –"

Too late—she'd already gone. And it was only about fifteen minutes later that Kal realised the feeling was coming back into his hands. Not much of it, but his fingertips were starting to tingle. He tried to stand, or lift his arms, but failed. Strength might be returning, but too slowly to do much good. And Alexa was less than an hour from sacrificing herself. Time passed excruciatingly slowly—he kept pushing himself, and eventually got to the point where he could stand and then walk just fine … flying was proving a problem.

Half an hour.

He didn't even know which direction the iceberg was _in_. The direction the _Titanic _was headed, obviously, but what if they'd somehow changed something already, and she'd gone in a different direction? Alexa would have no problem locating it, he knew—there was no doubt that she was definitely smarter than him.

There was terrifyingly little time left by the time he finally regained his power of flight, and then he headed after her as fast as possible. He did catch up to her, but only as she was at the side of the iceberg, beginning to push it out of the way.

"Alexa!"

She stopped, landing on the top of the berg. "I should have known it wouldn't be enough. Damn Kryptonian physiology."

"You have to stop right now."

She gestured behind him, to where the lights and the shape of the _Titanic _were now distinct and very, very close. "I don't have a choice. Either help me, Kal, or get out of my way."

"No. To both."

"I don't understand. Two days ago you were all for saving them, now you don't want to?"

"Not at the cost of your life I don't."

"I'm _one _person, Kal, and we are talking about fifteen _hundred _people –!"

"Fifteen hundred people who are _not _worth one of you!"

Stunned silence.

"Please. Just come away—we'll save as many people as we can once she hits, get them into the lifeboats and everything else then. That way history still gets preserved and –"

"Kal, there are _sixteen _lifeboats, and over two thousand people. Even with each lifeboat holding seventy, half the people will still drown or die of hypothermia!"

"Alexa, I'm still not letting you do it!"

"You're not my father, Kal!"

As if his feelings for her were at all paternal. It was too late anyway. The ship was upon them. Alexa ran to dive off the iceberg; he caught her as she tried to pass him, and the _Titanic_ struck, just as she always was going to. All the fight seemed to go out of Alexa as her eyes filled with tears.

"Too late," she whispered. Then she pulled herself together, clearing her throat. "Alright, we can still salvage some of this—when the ship goes down, we get as man people out of the water as possible. There's another ship, the _Californian_, twenty miles south of our position. You go and find it and bring it back here as soon as possible. We could still –"

Then Alexa's tongue froze to the roof of her mouth. Her feet froze to the berg. Kal was in much the same state, paralysed for the second time that night. The rest of the world was speeding up. The ship was already listing forwards, and then she was splitting in two, tearing like paper. Every rivet holding her together failed. The screams were everywhere. Little tiny dots of pale hands and faces, all reaching out for help, were starting to be visible. The nearest lifeboat had twelve people in it.

Then Kal could move again, and so could Alexa. "What is going on?"

"Doesn't matter," Alexa snapped. "Kal, get that ship. I'll get people out of the water –"

And then the world skipped forward. Skipped, like a scratch on a movie disc. They were suddenly watching the end of the _Titanic _plunge into the North Sea—another skip. People in the water were still, stiff, cold. Dead. When they were mobile again, Alexa didn't waste time: she ran to dive off the iceberg, stopped only by an unexpected voice.

"You won't be able to save them," a voice called after her, from behind both of them.

They both turned to see J'onn standing on the other end of the iceberg. His expression was intensely sorrowful. "J'onn? What's going on here? Why can't we save them?"

"How are you here?" Alexa demanded.

"Here is not where you think."

"What do you mean?"

In answer, J'onn looked towards the suddenly-flickering sky. "End programme."

She didn't have to demand to know what that meant—the bright white light was back again, and the next thing she knew, she was lying on a bed on the Metrotower infirmary. There were sensors attached to her head; she ripped them off, looking around. On a bed next to her, Kal was sitting up, looking equally confused. At the foot of her bed stood Tom. His arms were folded.

Alexa sat up, glaring at her twin. "Does somebody want to tell me what in Tartarus is going on? What was that?"

"That," Tom replied, "was your psych evaluation. And you both failed."

**A/N: Review please!**


	10. Picking Up The Pieces

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews! And thank you to DaisyJane. Right, if you listen to none of the songs I put at the beginning of each chapter, then please go to YouTube and listen to this one, because it's just beautiful, and it's a perfect fit for the chapter. **

_Are we liars in denial?_

_Are we smoke without the fire? _

_Tell me, please, is this worth it?_

_I deserve it,  
_

_'Cause she's gone,  
_

_And I'm picking up the pieces,  
_

_I watch you cry,  
_

_But you don't see,  
_

_That I'm the one by your side,  
_

_'Cause she's gone,  
_

_In her shadow is it me you see?  
_

_'Cause all that's left is you and I,  
_

_And I'm picking up the pieces,  
_

_She left behind.  
_

Picking Up The Pieces—Paloma Faith**  
**

**Chapter Ten**

There was a stunned silence, in which everyone stared at each other: Alexa at Thomas, Thomas at J'onn, J'onn at Kal and Kal at Alexa. She was completely taut with anger, and when she spoke, her voice seethed.

"Psych evaluation?"

"Yes. Don't look at me like that—you both agreed that council members should also take part in them. You two happened to be first on the list."

"No one agreed to full virtual reality scenarios! And the fucking _Titanic_, Thomas?"

He grimaced. "Alright, I'll admit that was ill-judged –"

"Ill-judged? You're damn right it was _ill-judged_!"

"But the fact remains you _both _failed," he overrode her, "and you'll both have to retake the evaluation."

Alexa let out an outraged and derisive noise and stormed towards the door. Kal knew exactly how she felt. No wonder everything had skipped ahead when the ship started to sink—no wonder there had been something wrong the entire time. Facing a morally complicated choice in a virtual training environment was one thing; facing an _impossible _one?

When Thomas swore and made to go after his sister, Kal stopped him. "Maybe I should go."

Tom sighed. "Maybe you should."

"We'll discuss this when I get back," Kal added warningly to J'onn as he followed Alexa.

She had obviously moved quickly, as she was nowhere in the Metrotower. When he got to the teleporter room, the technician—still looking pale in the wake of Batwoman, no doubt—told him she'd gone back to Gotham. Kal input the coordinates for the Batcave from memory and then stepped on the pad. When he appeared in the Cave. Alexa was standing at the computer, tapping furiously away on the touch-keypad. He moved to just behind her, silently.

"They had no right," she said, still mad as hell from the tone of her voice.

"We agreed."

"I know," she spat, pulling up another window and gesturing angrily at it. "I already checked."

"Hardly their fault we weren't listening properly," he said.

"_Entirely_ their fault we weren't given any prior warning! And the fucking _Titanic_? Tom should have done his research—if he'd bothered at all then he would have known that was completely inappropriate for the purposes of a psych evaluation! 'We both failed'—what else did they expect?"

"What are you doing now?" he asked.

"Hacking in to Thomas' League files. I'm not going to be taken unawares again, and if he thinks I'm going to play along with the next one then he has another thing coming!"

She pulled all the files from Tom and then did the same to J'onn's files, and then started looking for the results from the other psych evaluations to have taken place.

"Hundred per cent pass rate. Until now anyway. Of course, no one _else _had to choose between doing what they were supposed to do and the collapse of the League itself." After that, she pulled up a copy of the agenda for the next meeting and added, 'Revaluation of the Psychological Evaluation'.

"Is that necessary?" Kal asked.

'Yes. It makes sense for an evaluation like that to be carried out before any new member joins the League—put them in a fraught scenario and see what they'll do. For existing members –" she shook her head. "Especially council members. It's ludicrous. And insulting."

"We still need psychological evaluation too, Alexa."

She glanced at him. "I'm not saying we don't. But they should be small-scale and conducted with a professional psychologist, and a telepath present. We prove that we make the right kind of decisions on a daily basis. _You've _been proving you can for over a century."

"True," he admitted.

"Then absolutely no one has the right to decide you suddenly need to have that ability tested," she replied crisply. A few minutes later, she was finished typing. "Done."

He regarded her seriously when she turned to face him. "Are you okay?"

"Obviously not; I'm still angry as –"

"I mean, are you _okay_?"

Her shoulders slumped, and she pulled her mask off to run her hands roughly through her hair. "No. Really not. Are you?"

"No."

She sighed and hugged him. Though surprised by the contact, he didn't shun it—far from it. "At least there was nothing we could have done," she murmured. "Those people … they were dead before either of us were alive."

He nodded. "Exactly. That's what I'm pissed about. They didn't have to make us watch that."

Alexa pulled back, and he pretended not to notice her wiping her eyes. "Didn't know you could swear."

They were interrupted by the sound of the teleport, and Thomas appeared. Alexa went back to glaring. He put his hands up. "I just came to explain."

"Explain _what_?"

"Why you had to watch the ship actually sink. There was a glitch in the programme. Once the subject is under, the computer can't be interrupted until it's run its course. That ended with the sinking of the ship. Making you go through that last hour … it wasn't intentional."

"I'll just bet it wasn't," Alexa growled. She moved forwards and past her brother. "I'll talk to you later, Thomas. At the moment I don't think I can look at you. Kal, I'll see you around."

She shot into the air and out of the cave. Tom sighed. "She's never going to forgive me, is she?"

"She will. She's just shaken up. You pretty much did the worst thing you could to her."

Tom frowned. "What, put her on the _Titanic_?"

"No. You made her powerless."

* * *

March rained its way into April that year, and continued raining for about the first fortnight. It made Alexa's patrols uncomfortable, but more effective on the whole. Something about rain combined with shadows that made the criminals extra twitchy, and therefore a lot easier to scare the living daylights out of. But it made her wet, and cold, and her suit chafed in not-very-nice places. She was very glad to get home and into a warm bed afterwards. Tonight would end differently—she had a training session with Kal scheduled, and she always looked forwards to them.

Her com-link beeped. "_Cave to Batwoman._"

"Go ahead."

"_Message from Supes –_"

"Don't call him that."

"_Sorry_," Thomas said, and she could hear him rolling his eyes. "_Message from Kal-El, the Man of Steel, Last Son of Krypton –_"

"_Thomas_."

"_He wants a rain check on the training tonight. No pun intended_."

Alexa frowned. She didn't think Kal had ever cancelled on her before. "Did he say why?"

"_Just that he wasn't feeling up to it. Did you actually wear Superman out, Lexie?_"

She ignored that. They hadn't actually seen each other in more than a week. She had been really anticipating tonight. "Where's his com-link placing him?"

"_Metrotower. Sparring suite two_."

"Anyone else with him?"

"_No, doesn't look like it. That's weird._"

It was weird. Alexa didn't like it. She stood, then jumped off the edge of the building. "Keep on eye on Gotham, Tommy. I'm in Metropolis if you need me."

When she got to the Metrotower, she went down to the sparring suites without speaking to anyone, though she waved to Barda from a distance, and indicated that she'd catch up with her later. When she got to suite two, she keyed open the door—it wasn't locked, so she didn't have to use her override.

"Kal? I know you're in here. Bats might not be able to see well but we can hear just fine."

The more she listened, though, the more obvious it was that something was wrong. His breathing was off; laboured, there were hitches in it that in anyone else she would have called sobs. As her eyes adjusted to the gloom, Alexa saw him.

"Kal? What's wrong?"

Sitting listlessly in the furthest corner of the room, he shook his head. "Nothing."

"Tell me."

He looked up at her, and then sighed. "It was fifty years ago today my wife died."

Batwoman gave the command to deadlock the doors, then took her mask off. "Can I join you? Or would you prefer to be alone?"

"No. Actually no."

She sat down, and Kal shook his head again, wiping a stray tear away. "I'm being stupid."

"Why, because you miss your wife? That's not unreasonable, Kal."

"But it's been half a century."

"Well, that's true. So what _is_ the expiration date on grief nowadays?"

"Point taken."

"We're not infallible. And if we were we'd be terrifying. You can't deny the pain of loss anymore than I can. We're only –" she broke off with a small chuckle.

"What?"

"Well, I was going to say 'we're only human', but that's not really true of either of us, is it?"

He smiled briefly, and then there was a quiet pause. Alexa settled herself more comfortably against the wall. "Tell me about her."

"I wouldn't have any idea where to start."

Alexa pursed her lips. "Her teeth?"

A laugh this time, at which she grinned, and then sobered. "Was she pretty? I bet she was pretty wasn't she?"

"She was beautiful."

Batwoman did not go back to patrol that night, and nor did she manage to see Barda. Instead she sat next to the man she wanted more than any other, and listened to him talk about his long-dead wife. The long-dead wife he was so very obviously—so very painfully—still in love with.

Just after dawn, Kal stopped talking. His tears had long dried; she'd got him to smile, laugh even, and comforted him during the darkest hours of the night. He had thanked her and left, heading into the Metropolis sunrise without a look back. Alexa wished she could have forgotten everything so easily. Was it just her feeling this way? Had she just taken an infatuation too far? Maybe she'd misjudged everything that had passed between them? And if she hadn't, then what could she do about it? Obviously now was a terrible idea… but now she was aware she was living and toiling in the massive shadow of something else. A shadow named Lois Lane. How had she not seen it? She knew he mourned, but to still be in love …

_Oh Kal. No wonder you can't see me. Will you ever be able to?_

Feeling conflicted and upset, Alexa naturally looked for solace. And she could think of only one person she would be able to confide in without fear of judgement or scruple: her grandmother. She took the invisible jet to Themyscira that afternoon, and touched down on one of the sandy beaches of the island with complete relief. Isla Wayne might be where she had grown up, but this was her second home, after Gotham. Being here was always comforting. The rest of the world would one day leave her—Gotham would become a utopia, her parents and brothers would age and die, but Hippolyta, Themyscira and the Amazons would forever welcome her.

She flew to the palace and landed in the forum, smiling as Amazons all rushed over to greet her. Chief among them was Phillipus—Alexa bowed respectfully to her former teacher, and was pulled into a hug in answer for it. "Been too long, Princess."

Alexa smiled. "I agree."

"And you'll have gone soft in all the time you've been away, I'll be bound."

"I hope not, sister. Though you'd be a better judge than me."

"Yes, and I will be judging, later. Come on. You're here to see the Queen?"

"I am."

"She's with the Senate at the moment, or she was. I'm sure she won't mind breaking early for her favourite granddaughter though."

Sure enough, Hippolyta broke her up meeting with the senate almost as soon as she saw Alexa—or interrupted it anyway. She embraced Alexa, kissing her on both cheeks. "Alexandra. Welcome back."

"My Queen."

"None of that."

Alexa grinned and hugged Hippolyta again. "I've missed you, _Yaya_."

"Will you join us?"

"Thank you, but I am not dressed appropriately, and I don't want to cause offence."

"That is of no matter," Hippolyta said, leading her into the senate.

Alexa exchanged greetings with the Amazons in there, some informal and some not. They all welcomed her, but she was not dressed as a senator, and it seemed odd, Batwoman sitting in the senate. To help, Alexa removed her mask, the top half of her suit and her gloves. Hippolyta sat back on her throne, smiling as Alexa took her unofficial place a little distance away.

The debate appeared to be about introducing an ambassador to the United Nations. At the moment, Themyscira did not officially exist—they had no voice in the international community and, without Diana, were becoming isolated from Man's World once again. Some Amazons saw this as a good thing: Themyscira had lived apart from war, deprivation, greed for millennia, and there was no reason why they should not do so again. Others argued that they needed to rebuild ties because isolation led to alienation, and mistrust.

Hippolyta listened to both sides with neutrality, and put in the occasional diplomatic comment. As the arguments faded, she said, "What do you think, Alexandra?"

Alexa blinked. "Me?"

One of the senators got to her feet. "My Queen. I understand that Alexandra is of your blood, and therefore royalty, but surely she has no vote on their council? She is no senator. I mean no offence, naturally, Princess," she added to Alexa.

"None taken."

"it is a fair question," Hippolyta nodded. "And I will answer you, sister. It is simple: as an Amazon, Alexandra has a vote in this island's future as much as any of us. In addition, she can offer a more knowledgeable point of view than any of us here—she has lived in Man's World, still does. That is why I am curious to hear what she thinks."

The challenger nodded. "Then I withdraw my objection, my Queen."

Hippolyta acknowledged her with a gracious nod, then turned back to her granddaughter. "Alexandra?"

Alexa searched for the words to frame her answer, then said, "It is very possible you—we—will not be able to fade back into mythology."

"We did it once."

"Yes, but that was when Man's World was far less developed. It still had a reverence for the gods, for magic, and legends. Now, their mentality is very different. Secularism of all types is growing; magic is regarded as technology that is, as yet, indecipherable. Legends are picked apart for the shreds of historical truth in them. I do not say these are bad things—they are still capable of respect, even if they have lost reverence. If the Amazons withdraw, they may follow. And if there are people willing to try and exploit, to attack Themyscira –"

"Then we will show them what we did to Heracles and his ilk!" someone cried, to cheers from some of the others.

Alexa waited until they had died down. "Weapons technology has advanced somewhat since the days of Heracles. You may not be able to repel modern weaponry easily, if at all."

"And how would joining the international community protect us against that?" Hippolyta asked.

"As a sovereign member of the United Nations, Themyscira would benefit from the protection of the Declaration of Human Rights, economic and political sanctions and, if necessary, the protection of UN Peacekeeping forces. It will also be easier to bring the full weight of the League to bear for our benefit, should we need it."

"Do we not already have that?"

"You have me, unquestionably. And the League will fight injustice wherever it occurs—but it's less messy, diplomatically speaking, than if we don't have UN backing."

Hippolyta held up a hand when Alexa had finished, stalling any further debate. "Thank you, sisters. You have made compelling arguments on both sides. I will give you my decision tomorrow. For now though, I would like to spend some time with my granddaughter."

The rest of the day was spent in the relaxed contentment Alexa had hoped for, being gently teased and loved and spoiled by her grandmother's treats and blessings. They spoke about parents, brothers, Gotham, the League; they went into the gods' temple and worshipped together, and ate, drank, laughed. Alexa had been upset when she arrived, and with a dilemma, but now she had only the dilemma. And that would be soon resolved, she was sure.

After dinner and good wine had loosened both their tongues, Hippolyta suggested a walk down to the beach. By this time, Alexa had changed into more traditional dress: a light blue chiton and sandals, and these she removed so that she could walk in the sea's foam.

Hippolyta smiled at that. "So much like your mother."

Alexa smiled, and they continued in silence for a little while.

"You spoke well today. In the senate."

"Thank you. Why did you want me to speak? It wasn't only for the reasons you said, was it?"

"No," Hippolyta admitted. "While my reasons were true … I wanted you to have the experience of the senate."

"Why?"

"Because I am filled with wanderlust, my child. Because quite soon, I am going to wish to leave Themyscira for a while, and see Man's World. See beyond it, if I can."

Alexa blinked. "Leave?"

"Not soon in your terms perhaps—fifty years' hence, perhaps a century. It will pass quickly enough. But when I do go, I wish to know that my kingdom will be in safe hands."

"You're grooming _me_ to rule?" Alexa asked, stunned. "What about Mom? She's your daughter, she's first in line to the throne –"

Hippolyta sighed. "Darling, you know that Diana is more dear to me than anything in this world or the next—except you. And she will always be an Amazon. When she –" here a spasm of grief stopped her voice, and she had to pause before continuing, "When she dies, she will be buried here. Your father too, if he wishes it. But they are mortal. Because of that, their minds, their politics, would be bound by their mortality. We Amazons have always played the long game. If a value in society takes a hundred years to shift, a policy to come to fruition, then so be it. If you know you will see it, you can be patient."

"Alright. But Mom _has _been immortal, she can't have forgotten something so basic."

"I am sure she has not. But others could well have. There are those—though they dare not say it to me—who believe she has betrayed Amazon ideals, by choosing love over the destiny the gods might have next assigned her. Appointing Diana my regent would be contentious at the very best. At the worst, it could lead to defection by some."

"Like Antiope?" Alexa asked quietly.

Hippolyta looked at her sharply. "Yes, like Antiope. I lost not only my own sister then, but also many Amazons when the Bana-Migdall vanished. I've no desire to let that happen again. Continuity may count for a lot. And in that case, Diana cannot be Queen."

"So _I _must be? _Yaya_ …"

"It will not be now," Hippolyta soothed. "You are still yet too young. But one day, yes, I intend that you should rule in my stead. And the future is never certain; one day you may well be Queen in your own right."

Alexa shivered and pulled her grandmother into a hug. "Please don't speak of your death so lightly."

Hippolyta stroked her hair. "Do not worry, my little sun and stars. I will not leave you yet."

"I do not want you to leave me at all."

"That is in the hands of the gods. Now—we have discussed what I wanted. Now what is it that bothers you, Alexandra?"

"I … It seems so trivial now."

And in light of their discussion, perhaps it did not even matter. Having servants and being surrounded by wealth in a fictional life had made Kal uncomfortable—she could not see him agreeing to be the consort of a Queen. There was no one more worthy, but he would never see that.

"Judging by how troubled you look, I'd say it is an affair of the heart," Hippolyta said drily. "Man or woman?"

She sighed. "Man."

"And are you in love?"

"I don't know. No," she amended honestly. "But I easily could be."

Hippolyta sighed. "Don't tell me, Alexa—you have followed your mother's example."

"No, he's not mortal."

"Then he is one of those so-called 'New Gods'?" Hippolyta asked, her tone one of distaste."

Alexa smiled. "_Yaya_, one of those New Gods is my best friend, and she can't help being what she is. But in any case no, he's not a New God."

The Queen frowned. "Then he is … not of this world?"

Alexa nodded. "Kryptonian."

"Kryptonian. That sounds familiar. Wasn't he –?"

"Superman, yeah. You've met him, I think."

"Yes, a few times. He was a close friend of your mother's."

"Exactly why Mom and Dad aren't the ones having this conversation with me. I can't see how they'd understand. They suspect something, at least on my side. But they think it is merely an infatuation. They think he cannot reciprocate."

"Then they underestimate how beautiful you have become. Not only on the outside. Superman –"

"Kal. He goes by his birth name now. Kal-El."

"Kal. Does he feel the same about you?"

Alexa sighed and sat down in the sand. "I know he wants me. I don't know how deeply. The situation is … complicated."

Hippolyta joined her. "Tell me."

"He's a widower. He married a human woman, a long time ago, and she died."

"As humans are apt to do."

"As far as I can tell, she would have made a pretty good Amazon, if the gods had willed it that way," Alexa said, thinking of what Kal had told her of Lois' fiery nature.

"And he still mourns?"

"More than mourns, _Yaya_. I think he still loves her. I think he is still in love with her, and it's clashing with however he feels about me. So he does nothing. And I cannot _bear _to do nothing any longer."

Hippolyta nodded. "I see your problem."

"I'm not used to competing for the things I want. I will fight for them, yes, but how do I fight a woman who does not exist? And I'm unsure if I should be fighting it. She was there before I was."

"What does your heart tell you?"

"My heart tells me to wait," she said, gritting her teeth in frustration.

"And your instincts?"

"To pounce. As soon as possible, and worry about it after I've bedded him. Neither seem like the right thing."

"Your instincts are those of an Amazon. But we are women too, and that is where your heart comes in."

"Then what do I do?"

"Play the long game," Hippolyta said gently. "You both have forever, and in relative terms, he will come to you soon, and everything will be as you desire it."

"And in the meantime? I will admit, _Yaya_, I did not wish your council to be patience."

"I know. But you do not yet know what it is to be ageless. It may take fifty years, but he will come to you. No one could have you at their side and be unaware of it for long."

"_Fifty years_? I think another week might be beyond me!"

"Physical desire is easy to assuage. Find release, if you seek it. Your Kal-El may be extraordinary, but in the bed one man is much the same as any other."

Alexa laughed. "It's amazing how many similarities there seem to be between the twenty second century and Ancient Greece."

"The best ideas never fade away."

"So this is your solution? Wait for Kal to come to me, but in the meantime find myself someone to –"

"Have fun with. That's all. Enjoy yourself."

The more Alexa thought about it, the less ridiculous it seemed. It had been months now since she'd last had sex, and she couldn't keep hanging around waiting for Kal to wake up. Besides, the truth was, he'd had a chance to kiss her, or to make any kind of overture towards her. He'd chosen not to—fair enough. She was attracted to him, yes, but there were other fish in the sea, other men in the world she found attractive. And she would not allow sexual tension to start interfering with other aspects of her life. When Kal was ready … Hippolyta was right, she thought. When he was ready, Kal would come to her. For now …

Once back in Gotham, she picked up the holophone and dialled a particular number.

"Hi, Michael? It's Alexandra Wayne. I'm in New York from tomorrow for the opening of the new opera house—is that dinner invitation still open?"

* * *

**A/N: Told you he'd be back! Review please!**


	11. Crazy

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews! Here's some more of a love interest who isn't Kal!  
**

_And when you're out there,_

_Without care,  
_

_Yeah, I was out of touch,  
_

_But it wasn't because I didn't know enough,  
_

_I just knew too much,  
_

_Does that make me crazy?  
_

_Does that make me crazy?  
_

_Does that make me crazy?  
_

_Probably_

Gnarls Barkley—Crazy

**Chapter Eleven**

"I have to admit," Michael said, pouring wine into her glass in a Manhattan restaurant three days later, "I didn't expect to be hearing from you again, Alexandra."

"No?"

"No. I had the impression I was missing something."

"Not at all," she smiled. "I had a lot on my mind that evening. Cleaning up one of my brother's many messes."

"Ah, in that case all is forgiven."

"Thank you. How's the campaign going?" she asked as the amuse-bouche arrived. "Won the hearts of the people of New York yet?"

"Some of them, perhaps. The working classes are behind us, which isn't surprising given our planned reforms, but the upper classes … They're proving a little harder to convince."

"Unsurprising. The rich rarely like change."

"Yet here you are."

"I'm not a conventional rich girl."

"I can only agree," he smiled, titling his wine glass to her.

Alexa sighed. "When did we become a class society anyway? America, land of the free … some joke."

Simply put, the oil had run dry. And while there were systems in place by then for life to carry on as it always had, those technologies had been suppressed and starved of funding for far too long—in those dark days, it was only the rich able to afford prices of petrol, oil etc. In desperation, the government had allowed wealthy individuals to take over vital industries. Similar to what had happened in Russia after the collapse of the USSR, oligarchs emerged. A new upper class. But it had not been in charge for centuries, only decades. People still remembered—and wanted—an equal America. Michael would have to tread a fine line. He needed the money of the super-rich, but he was preparing to take most of their power from them, if not their privilege. Most donations to his campaign came from the average Joe, or from families of 'old money', like Alexa's.

"We can be as we should be again," Michael said. "With the right people in charge."

"Does top-down change really work though?"

"It won't be. It'll be the government pushing things down and the people pushing things up. The oligarchs will change or they'll be squashed."

He spoke with a certain amount of bitterness; Alexa remembered he was from a working class background, educated at Yale through a scholarship. She wondered how long he'd had to endure the ridicule of his peers. Happily, Michael changed the subject, and the rest of the meal passed with much enjoyment for both of them. He flirted, she flirted, they talked about serious things, about whimsical things—and parted that evening with an agreement that Michael would be her date to the opening of the opera house the next night.

When they arrived in a dark limo, the chauffeur opened up the door for them, and they were immediately assaulted by camera flashbulbs popping off, and a roar of excitement from the paparazzi. Michael, while used to TV cameras, seemed a little less at home when confronted with people like these. Alexa was far more used to it though, and only took his arm.

"Don't leave me," he muttered.

She laughed. "Deal. Come on."

After about ten minutes on the red carpet, they managed to get inside the opera house, where they were handed chilled champagne and enveloped by the smiles and inane chat of the art-fanatics surrounding them.

At about half past eight, one of the opera house staff said, "Ladies and gentlemen, if you would like to take your seats, _Madame Butterfly_ is about to begin."

"God I hate these things," Michael said to her as they took their seats. "I hate the _people_ at these things," he added, proving that her guess had been right, the night before.

"Just think of all their votes," she whispered, "and all their donations."

Michael looked slightly happier as the music started, and by the time the opera closed—many, many hours later—he was ready to continue hobnobbing with the well-to-do. It was about one in the morning by the time they left, the car there to take Alexa back to her hotel.

"So did you like _Madame Butterfly_?" Michael asked on the ride back.

"The company sang it beautifully, but it's a little too tragic for my tastes. Not that I can think of a cheerful opera, but even so."

"Which is your favourite composer?"

"Puccini, though my favourite opera is not one of his."

"Oh?"

"_Carmen_. First one I ever saw, and I thought it was wonderful. Been in love with it ever since."

"Still no happy ending though."

"No. I think the first person who writes one should get a Nobel prize."

"Well, winning a Nobel prize is one of my ambitions," Michael said.

"Really? Though I guess not for music. Peace prize?"

"Yeah. Seems stupid, I know-"

"It's no stupider than wanting to be President," she grinned. "And you seem pretty close to doing that. Besides, Obama did both didn't he?"

"That was a long time ago."

"Then it's about time it happened again."

She extended her stay in New York for as long as Michael did, going with him to the various rallies and visits and dinners he had. She had to admit, she was impressed. As an orator he had a verve and empathy she'd rarely seen in politicians before. Hostile audiences did not remain so for long once he began to speak. At their various dinners just the two of them, he was witty and charming and handsome. She liked him.

They slept together on their final night in the city, Alexa making the decision to invite him up to her hotel room. His kisses were warm and made her shiver in the pleasantest way, his hands the same. He used flirting and technique to turn her on. No, it wasn't the raw passion she felt with Kal but made her respond in kind, bringing pleasure and taking it—and she managed not to let her thoughts stray too far from the man beneath her. He showed surprising energy—said she brought it out of him—and the tinge of dawn was appearing on the eastern skyline before they stopped. Alexa stretched languidly; her skin was glowing with sweat and everything still had that slightly fuzzy glow to it.

The edge had been taken off and she felt sublime. It really had been too long.

Michael grinned at the expression on her face. "Still got it then."

She chuckled. "And then some."

"You're not so bad yourself." He took her into his arms and kissed her gently, smoothed sweaty hair from her face. "Alexa, I have to go."

She frowned. "Go?"

"I have to bee on a flight to Houston in less than two hours."

She stared at him for a second, then sat up sharply and reached for her dress. "I see."

He sat up too, putting his arms around her and stilling her hands. "No, I really don't think you do," he smiled, kissing her shoulder blade. "I'm on the campaign trail, Alexa. I can't spend too long in any city. No matter how much I want to."

She looked at him, eyebrow raised. "So you do want to then?"

"Oh God yes." He smiled, kissed her. "Will you come with me?"

"To Texas? I don't really do the South, Michael. Besides, I can't. I've been away from Gotham too long already—my brother will have burned the manor down already, I need to go and make sure he doesn't melt the ashes."

He laughed and nodded but looked a little disappointed. "I'm in LA on Wednesday. Think you can manage West?"

She grinned. "Yes."

* * *

Within three days of Alexa and Michael arriving in L.A., the newspapers were once again full of her name. It annoyed her in the usual way, but it amused her too, to see tabloids and magazines wondering if she would make a good First Lady. Not that the election was by any means certain, but it looked good for Michael—and so did having her on his arm. Despite having to play the socialite, Alexa was more often than not known for cleaning up the escapades of her man-whore brother, so fairly sensible as far as socialites went. For Michael, it earned him more standing with the upper classes. For Alexa, it meant that she could get good publicity without acting the idiot. The prospect of her becoming the First Lady caused several thousand pairs of raised eyebrows, but no alarm.

Thankfully, both Michael and Alexa thought it was funny more than anything. They were both having fun—Michael went from strength to strength politically, and each time he won a debate or went up in the polls, Alexa definitely felt the benefits. She didn't need to fake anything, from smiles to orgasms. The press called it a 'Whirlwind Romance', which was both true and not. They followed one another from city to city (Alexa on the campaign trail, and Michael going to Gotham when he could), and as far as everyone knew, apart from Thomas, she was falling fast, and falling hard. But there were no surprises in their relationship. Nothing that she could say overly intrigued her. Michael wasn't boring, far from it. He was still as interesting as he had been when they met, and she was discovering that he could be genuinely tender and kind, while his mind be always rapacious and searching. He was exactly the kind of man who _should _be President, and Alexa felt he would be a good one. She didn't think he'd be able to achieve everything he set out to, especially if he couldn't get Congress behind his ideas, but she enjoyed hearing him talk about it. Politics was always about compromise. It was either that, or deceit. And probably some of both.

She did not love him. She was unsure if she ever would. Maybe, if she didn't feel the way she did about Kal (which was something she wouldn't let herself define), maybe she would have fallen for Michael. He was certainly the kind of man a woman like her could love. She didn't feel guilty for not loving him; he didn't love her. He liked her, pleasured her, treated her with respect and affection—but not much in the way of real or lasting passion. Passion had been around in bucket-loads, physically. And it was that which helped her continue on with her life with respect to everything else. With Kal, really. She still felt the pull between them, that spark, the chemistry that often left her breathless, but now she didn't feel the need to express anything of that nature towards him. She didn't have to worry about how fast her heart was beating, or that she would have to go home full of desire with only her own body to satisfy her. Michael helped to satisfy her now, or at the very least he took the edge off her sexual frustration. He didn't make her completely happy, didn't meet her in all the ways she knew she _could _be met. But she tried not to think about that. Hippolyta had advised her to have fun. To be patient—therefore she would.

She and Michael had been dating for about three months when it became clear that while she was treating it all very lightly, Michael was not. They had been in Gotham, attending a fundraising concert organised by the Wayne Foundation to stop the development of the land the children's home sat on, or one of the homes, anyway.

At the end of the evening, it was Alexa's turn to make a speech. She wasn't nervous, and she'd even picked up a fair few tips from watching Michael talk to the huge crowds who turned out to see him. He kissed her just before she went up the stage.

"Knock 'em dead."

She grinned. "You know, I think I will."

"Ladies and gentlemen, I can't tell you how completely overwhelmed I am by your generosity. It's been a long time since our city was the garbage dump of America, and it's too easy to think Gotham doesn't need kindness like this anymore. Our past is sullied; our present is clearing, and thanks to all of you, our future is bright. And we need to make sure it stays that way. It isn't just one children's home. Until every child in Gotham lives without hunger, without tears, the Wayne Foundation will continue to try and help them. And that goal just got a little bit closer, with your help. Thank you. Thank you so much."

Alexa would have raised a fair amount of money alone, but Michael turning up had massively increased the press attention. Instead of the two million dollars needed, over ten had been donated. Enough to buy the land and renovate all the other children's homes in Gotham. Afterwards, she and Michael went back to the manor. Thomas took the hint and had gone out for the night, stumbling from one girl's bed to another. Or floating, really. He'd stay the night, or whatever was left of it, in the company penthouse.

After such a productive evening, Alexa was in a buoyant mood, and the sex was even better than usual, and lasted for hours, the two of them giving and receiving bodily pleasure. They did not cuddle afterwards, lying contented in the arms of their lover—but then they never had. Alexa regretted, in moments like this, that she did not love him. And, in that moment, she wondered why she didn't love him. She could not track any one thing Michael was lacking, or something about him that she didn't like. On paper he was a great match for her but love didn't fill her heart when she saw him. It probably didn't matter.

When rationality had returned to her, she rolled over to face Michael. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Coming tonight. You really helped."

He kissed her briefly. "We make a good team."

"I agree. Things do seem to be accomplished more quickly with the two of us."

"Do you mean that?"

She frowned. "Yes. Why?"

"Because …" He got out of bed, still naked, and went to his jacket. He pulled out a small box that could only contain one thing, and knelt by her side of the bed. "Alexandra. Will you marry me?"

Her jaw dropped. "_Michael…_"

"I know it's sudden. But it's also the right thing to do. We make a great team, Alexa, you know that. And I think we could do even better things together in the future. Really we could."

She didn't ask if he loved her, conscious that he hadn't asked her either. And maybe that was for the best. If he did become President, time with him wasn't something she was going to get much of. But he was right—she'd cleaned up Gotham. As First Lady, wasn't it possible she could do even more? And it wasn't a completely cold decision; she liked him. She liked him a lot. Friendship made up for a lot, it was probably the most important part of a lasting marriage.

She would now eventually _have _to tell him the truth about herself, but that could be managed. And she believed she could be happy with him, or at least not lacking anything.

She nodded. "Yes. I'll marry you."

* * *

No one felt the good news was particularly good.

Thomas, for instance, laughed his head off. Until he saw the rock—and it was of considerable size—on her finger. Then the laughter stopped. "You're not serious? Gods above, Lexie!"

"Why wouldn't I be serious?" she asked.

"Because you've only known him twelve weeks!"

"I met him more than four months ago."

"You've only been officially dating for three of them!" Tom protested. "How can you possibly know him well enough to want to marry him?"

"Easily," she countered, not quite angry but beginning to feel defensive. "Michael is offering me an opportunity no one else is—no one else _could_."

"What? To play First Lady? Being a Gotham socialite and an Amazon princess isn't enough, you have to be queen of the damn castle?"

"Don't be ridiculous," she snapped. "The fact is, I can do more as First Lady –"

"You don't even know if he's going to win the election –"

"– than I could just in Gotham. Tommy, in a few years, Gotham won't need me anymore, in any capacity. What am I meant to do then?"

"I don't know—maybe be a member of the Justice League, like Warhawk or GL or Kal or any of us?"

"That's not enough," she said quietly. "I have forever, Tom. If you want to see this as a mistake then you go right ahead. But let this comfort you: if I am making a mistake, then at least I won't have to live with it."

For Bruce, it was the age thing.

"You're only twenty three years old, Alexa."

"Legally an adult in every country in the world."

"And he's forty nine. Twenty years is a large age gap. Too large."

"And remind me how many years there are between you and Mom?"

"Irrelevant."

"I don't think it is."

"Your mother was immortal when we met –"

"I'm immortal now."

"You're twenty-three!"

"And if I were fifty? Two _hundred _and fifty? What difference would it possibly make? I'd still be a child compared to Mom, compared to Hippolyta—I'm ageless, Dad. Twenty six years means nothing to me."

"And if he lives another fifty years—don't you think hell notice 'you're ageless'?" Bruce asked.

"I'll tell him."

"You can't take that risk."

"I trust him. He's a good man, Dad, and if he wasn't I wouldn't have said yes!"

"It's not just you you're risking! What about Thomas? Your mother and me, the League? Your grandmother and the Amazons?"

"I trust them to trust me! Hera, Dad, you trust my judgement when it comes to Gotham; you trust it when it comes to the League—trust me when it comes to myself, my future, and what's good for me."

Diana strongly objected to the idea of her daughter entering a loveless marriage. Very strongly. Alexa had to physically go to Isla Wayne to explain everything. When she had tried to on the phone, Diana had come out with, "I cannot believe you could make such a cold-hearted decision, Alexa. And I cannot deny how disappointed I am that you have done so."

* * *

**A/N: I know that all happened really fast, but it was supposed to. Kal will be making an appearance in the next chapter, so don't fret. Review please! **


	12. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews! I had an anon one I wanted to reply to, so please feel free to skip down. And thank you to Daisy Jane as well for the beta :)  
**

**falcon: Michael is a politician. There are going to be politics. As for contemporary politics, I really don't feel I'm being at all partisan, and even if I was, it's my story, so I'll write it how I want. If you don't feel that's for you, you don't have to keep reading. Whether or not you feel Obama deserved his Nobel Peace Prize is irrelevant. He was awarded one. That's not opinion, that is a fact. However, I'm glad to hear you've been enjoying the story so far, and I hope you continue to do so.  
**

_I come home in the morning light,_

_My mother says 'When you gonna live your life right?'  
_

_Oh Mommy dear,  
_

_We're not the fortunate ones,  
_

_And girls, they wanna have fun,  
_

_Oh girls just wanna have fun_

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun—Cyndi Lauper

**Chapter Twelve**

It was far harder telling Diana than telling her father and brother had been—so, so much harder. Because the way her mother was staring at her now was like she just did not recognise her. Swallowing back a sudden wave of tears at that thought, Alexa leaned forwards and took Diana's hands, so distressed did she look. Alexa had buried her ire at being summoned here like a naughty child, and had come to her parents' home to try and explain herself.

"Mom, the decision hasn't been cold-hearted. I am deeply attracted to Michael—he's kind, he's clever, funny, unique. And the reason I said yes is because I can do so much as his wife. I can help so many more people than I can now, even as Batwoman."

"Then run for President yourself, Alexa!"

"That's impractical and you know it. And it's also impossible since I wasn't born in the U.S., and I don't have a real birth certificate. This is the best opportunity I have, Mom—and it's not like I have no feelings for him –"

"But you are not in love with him!"

"But I'm not ruling it out! Mom, if you met him … _When _you meet him, you'll understand. He's a great man. And who knows, in months to come, I might fall in love with him, I don't know."

"'Might' is not good enough, honey. Not for marriage."

"But it's better than nothing!"

"And if you do fall in love with him, what then?"

She shrugged. "Kal survived till death us do part. So can I."

"Oh, honey. He might have survived it but he's not living. I don't want to see that happening to you."

Alexa was silent. But he _was _living. Slowly, yes, but when it had been just the two of them he had lived. He had laughed and danced with her and watched her bathe … "What's my other option, Mom? I either never marry or fall in love or I do what you did. And Mom, I love you, and I love Dad, but I don't want to sacrifice my calling to do the same thing you did."

The only person who had sincerely congratulated Alexa was her grandmother. "Excellent news, my little sun and stars. A fitting union."

"I thought you'd counsel me against a mortal."

"I would counsel you against falling in love with a mortal. But you have the look of a woman who has made a wise and clear-headed decision. Although it's not quite the fun I had in mind."

"No ... it did get more serious than I expected. Earlier than I expected too."

"Nevertheless, it is a queenly decision."

Alexa smiled. "Queenly, huh?"

"Indeed. He will be the leader of your nation; by wedding him, you are doing what is best for your people." She kissed both Alexa's cheeks. "You are putting them above your own personal happiness. I could not be prouder of you."

Diana, who had taken Alexa to Themyscira in the hopes that Hippolyta might be able to talk some sense into her daughter, stood aghast. "Mother!"

"I am sorry, Diana, but I cannot upbraid her. If this union is a political one, then it is fitting and appropriate. It is how royal matches are made."

Diana left without a backwards glance at either her mother or daughter. Hippolyta watched her go sadly. "I did not wish it to be so," she sighed. "But she is thinking like a mortal already."

That she might be, Alexa agreed silently. But there had been determination in the set of her shoulders and a steely glint in Diana's eyes that was pure Amazon. An Amazon preparing herself for a long fight.

* * *

Unfortunately for everyone concerned, Diana had indeed not given up. She believed that Alexa was not in love with her fiancé and she did not like it at all. It was altogether too cool, too intellectual. Not how one entered a marriage. Except, apparently, if one was royalty. A detached part of Diana wondered if she should have been prepared to be replaced by her own daughter as Hippolyta's favourite. It was not all that unexpected. Grandmothers doted on their grandchildren—Diana did the same with _her _grandchildren. But she did not like the way Hippolyta was _grooming_ Alexa to put others' happiness above her own at all times. Whether it was a good, altruistic approach to life or not, Alexa was _her _daughter. And Diana wanted her to be happy.

When she got back to Isla Wayne, pulling up to the jetty—she had taken the boat—Bruce was waiting for her. After he had greeted her with a kiss and an embrace, he pulled back.

"You look like you could do with a drink, Princess."

"Is that code for 'I take it it didn't go well'?" she asked.

"Didn't it?" he asked as they went back up to the house.

"No. Mother congratulated her on making 'a fitting and appropriate' political union. She actually thinks it's a _good _thing Alexa doesn't love him."

"Perhaps it is."

"Bruce, how can you say that?"

"Because Alexa is not you, Princess, and she's not me either. However this marriage ends, isn't it better that she doesn't come out of it heartbroken? Falling in love is wonderful, but frankly I don't want to see my daughter going through what Cl- Kal did. Do you?"

"Of course not."

Bruce's words stirred up another fear though. Alexa had soothed Diana with assurances that she would try to fall in love with Michael Archer. Alexa had a big heart, and she certainly would not be marrying Michael unless he was, as she had insisted, a great man. Suddenly Diana's instincts were warring within her. If Alexa married Michael, and never fell in love with him, and went through life with her heart closed off and shut away, that would be awful. But if she fell in love with a mortal man … it had taken Kal _fifty years _to even begin to rejoin the world. How long would Alexa mourn?

"Kal!" Diana suddenly said.

Bruce automatically glanced up at the sky. "Where?"

"No, not here. I think I need to make a phone call."

She ran back up to the villa, Bruce hot on her heels. "Diana, this is not going to work."

"Of course it is! You just said it yourself—'what Kal did' when he lost Lois. Do you want to see that happen to Alexa?"

"You know I don't."

"And can you think of anyone better qualified to warn her about what that kind of loss is like, apart from Kal?"

"No."

"Then why are we arguing about this?" she called, picking up the holophone.

Bruce's hand took it from her. "We're arguing about it," he said calmly, "because I'm not convinced he's going to give you the answer you want from him."

"I have to try, Bruce," she said, voice even but eyes pleading. He sighed and let go of the phone. Diana accessed the menu. "Call Kal."

"Calling Kal now," the phone's mechanical voice replied.

A moment later, Kal's pleasantly-surprised form appeared on her palm. "Diana, how are you?"

* * *

The news of the engagement came as a relief. Now he no longer would feel a conflict every time she smiled at him. Alexa was someone else's now—not that she had ever been his. He didn't have to decide whether or not to pursue her. But the reality wasn't working out like that at all. Alexa hadn't stopped smiling in that way which warmed him, and she still smelled like passionflowers and jasmine, and he could still hear her laughing no matter where in the Metrotower she was. The only thing that had changed was that she laughed more often now.

It hadn't been a release of any real tension on his side, but it had on hers. There was more ease in her stance when she was close to him; her heartbeat had slowed down and she came to the Metrotower less often. One thing that had not changed, though, was the fact that their sparring was still hot as hell. He hadn't had so many erections since he was a teenager. Nor had he taken so many cold showers.

After everything had been made official and public about her engagement, he couldn't avoid raising the subject; it would be awkward to talk about, but more awkward if he ignored it altogether. So, when they were next alone, he forced a smile onto his face and tried to ignore the way his insides were shriveling up. He had no right to the jealousy he felt; he knew he wasn't able to give her his whole heart and she deserved nothing less.

"I hear congratulations are in order."

"Yeah. Thanks."

He smiled. "Swept you off your feet then?"

"Something like that."

"When's the wedding?"

"Not sure yet. If we do it the way we're supposed to then it'll take a good year to plan – but with the campaign and everything it could take longer. Or we could just do it at City Hall. Might not be the fairy-tale but as long as the vows get said it doesn't matter I guess."

"I guess not."

And that was that—Kal felt relieved that it was over and done with, and things could return to a relative normality. There had to come a point when he got immune to her presence. There had to be. Eventually.

Of course, it hadn't happened in the months since he'd met her and honestly the attraction had only gotten worse, but what was half a year? Knowing she was married would help, it had to, but he hadn't anticipated Alexa's own mother trying to get _him _to break up her impending nuptials. As if he didn't already have that urge.

The moment the phone rang, he had a feeling of foreboding long before he picked it up. The caller-ID said it was Diana, and while she was one of his most regular phone correspondents, his gut told him it was a call he didn't really want to take.

He did though, adopting an expression he hoped was carefree. "Diana. How are you?"

"Well, thank you.'

He raised an eyebrow at her tone and body language. "I doubt that. What's wrong?"

She gave a short, sharp sigh. "It's Alexa."

There was a very brief moment of very strong panic when he thought she'd somehow been tapping into his thoughts—and day dreams, actual dreams … fantasies—which would be enough to piss any mother off. Then he reminded himself that telepathy had never been one of Diana's gifts. There was a still a faint note of trepidation in his voice when he asked, "What about Alexa?"

"You've heard about the engagement?"

He glanced at the TV, which was, for the fifth time that morning, playing the interview Alexa and Michael Archer had done. Kal was sure that each time they replayed it, Archer's smile got a little smugger. Right now he seemed to actually be saying, 'Don't blame me, _I'm _not an idiot. _I _didn't pass up my chance to be with her'. If the network ran it again for a sixth time, Kal was pretty sure he was going to end up punching the TV.

"Yeah, I've heard something about it."

"Well, Bruce and I –"

Bruce briefly appeared. "Meaning _Diana –_"

"– are both very concerned that she hasn't thought it through."

"I'm pretty sure she has."

"Kal, she's willing to marry a man she knows she doesn't love."

"She _doesn't _love him?" he exclaimed, genuinely shocked. Onscreen, Alexa and Archer couldn't have looked _more _in love—their body language was relaxed, they were both smiling, holding hands … Then he realised in that in all the glaring at Archer, he hadn't really looked at Alexa. Her behaviour in the flesh had been so happy he had just assumed … "Are you sure she doesn't love him?"

Diana's frown turned frustrated. "At the moment, she says she doesn't."

"At the moment?"

"Yes. Apparently Archer is a 'great man' and she could see herself falling in love with him at a later date."

"Then I'm very happy for her." _Or I'll try to be, anyway_. "Why aren't you?"

"Because it's a lose-lose situation for her! If she doesn't ever love him, then she shuts off her heart from the rest of the world –"

"I don't think that's true," he said. "She's a very compassionate woman, Diana. That's probably why she's marrying Archer. She thinks she can do some major good in the world that way."

"You know what I mean, Kal. She's closing herself off from falling in love. And she doesn't know what a joy it is."

_She might if I'd let her in_, he thought, a little morosely. _Or maybe that's just wishful thinking, Superman. _ "Then let her get married. It sounds as if she's halfway to it already."

"And if she _does_ fall in love with him? She could end up heartbroken forever. I don't want that."

"Well nobody does, but –"

"Then will you talk to her? You're the only person who knows what that kind of pain is like to live with, Kal. She might listen to you more than she'd listen to me or Bruce."

"Diana, let me get this straight. You want me to tell Alexa that it's not worth it?" he asked, shocked. "You want me to tell her that even a short burst of love comes at too heavy a cost?"

"Well, yes. Surely you of all people, Kal –_"_

"I of all people know that it's _always _worth it and once upon a time so did you," he said heavily. "Do you think I'd give one second of it up to be spared any of the grief? I had twenty-seven years of love with Lois, and I've got an eternity without her—I'd gladly suffer twice that for what I had, Diana. And being immortal never stopped _you_ from loving Bruce, even when he broke your heart. Even _forty years_ of separation didn't stop you loving him and you know that's why you came back. To spend whatever time you could with him before he died—but you got lucky when Athena gave you a choice." He folded his arms. "There is no possible way you or I should deny her that chance. And I won't."

* * *

With her family and friends in the know, the TV cameras given their pound of flesh with the interviews, there remained only one person with whom Alexa had not been honest. Unfortunately, he was her fiancé, and he still had no idea of the truth about his bride. Alexa kept putting it off—it was the wrong time, or Michael was too busy, or it was her turn to monitor Earth from the Metrotower. In the meantime, wedding preparations were underway. If Alexa had had her way, they would simply have done it at city hall—no fuss, no muss. Just man and wife and starting their life together. But when she had proposed this idea to Michael …

"I'd love nothing more," he smiled. "Simple, quiet …"

"But?"

"_But _it wouldn't be using the opportunity to its fullest. Our wedding needs to be public. Needs to make a statement."

"I doubt people will be all that impressed if we spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on our wedding when so many of them are struggling make a fraction of that a year," she pointed out. "Michael, we can't be lavish about this, surely?"

"I'm not suggesting lavish—but we can't afford for it to be invisible, either," he said, taking her hand and running his thumb over her engagement ring.

"Then what are you suggesting?"

"I'm suggesting that we keep it simple, but get the press in there. Elegant is what we need to aim for, but simplicity too. Wayne Manor would be perfect as a venue. It's large and grand, but ancestral, so we haven't spent ridiculous amounts on it. The grounds would be fantastic for a summer wedding, it's –"

"My home."

He nodded. "True. Would it bother you, having some of the press there?"

"I guess it's something I'll have to get used to. If handled right, publicity can be very beneficial."

"And both you and I know how to handle it right."

She conceded. "Alright. We'll get married in the grounds."

They went through the rest of the wedding that afternoon. It didn't take long. For the reception, a swing band. For the food, American, but modern American, not quintessential. No honeymoon—with the election looming in November it was too important that they not leave the country and immediately hit the campaign trail. Traditional flowers: roses, lilies. Alexa had modeled her gown on Grace Kelly, Catherine Middleton—simple, elegant and traditional and not at all what she'd want normally. But none of this was about her. In any other bride of twenty-three, that would cause irritation, if not tears and tantrums, but for Alexa, she only saw it as part of the overall performance. At this point, they would do anything they had to do (within the law) to get Michael elected. After that, Alexa would be able to do what she really wanted: help people.

The one elaborate thing that was being planned was an engagement party. Alexa had brought a new vitality and freshness to Michael, according to one of the many endless polls being carried out constantly. People expected that in the first flush of love, he might be a little impulsive, a little carried away. And Alexa was a socialite—she was expected to hold a magnificent party. After all, _no one_ threw parties like Alexandra Wayne.

She had organised it with her usual skill and deftness, and everyone had RSVP'd in the affirmative. Music and food were in place, Michael and Thomas both had new tuxedos for the occasion, and Alexa was just putting the finishing touches to her own outfit now. Outside her window was not the gardens of Wayne Manor; they weren't in Gotham tonight, but Metropolis. The incumbent President would be there (Michael was seen as his heir apparent by many), and he could only do Metropolis, given the strictures of his schedule.

There was a knock on her hotel door. "Come in!"

"It's me," Tom called. "Got a minute?"

She checked her watch. "Just one. I'm in the bedroom."

He pushed open the door just as she was putting in her earrings. "You look beautiful, Lexie."

"Thank you. And no."

"No?"

"No, I'm not going to change my mind. That _is _what you were going to say isn't it?"

"It was," Tom sighed. "I take it you're still going to tell Michael then?"

She nodded. "Tonight."

"What if he –"

"He won't. Even if he calls the wedding off, he's too intelligent and too discrete to say anything to anyone. I trust him, Thomas."

"Then I guess I trust him too."

"Good."

"I'll see you down there."

Michael arrived just as Tom left, and they went down to the hotel's ballroom together. He kissed her deeply just before they got out of the elevator, and it still made her shiver pleasantly. "What was that for?"

"You. You look beautiful. And I honestly can't wait until you're my wife."

_At the moment_, she thought.

Then they were in the ballroom, surrounded by smiling faces, tinkling music, champagne toasts and shouted congratulations. The Secret Service were standing guard at every exit point. It had taken Alexa quite a bit of cunning, once she had a pair of Secret Service Men assigned to her, to slip out and still do her job as Batwoman when they were in Gotham, but she had managed. They were only Secret Service after all. Alexa soon found herself deep in political discussion with the President himself, and by the time he had found someone else to speak to, he looked quite worn out.

Michael's hand touched her back, his voice low and delighted. "Well, that makes me feel better."

"What?"

"You obviously give _all _politicians a hard time. I shouldn't have taken it so personally."

"If you hadn't, we might not be here now," Alexa pointed out.

"True."

She glanced around. Most of their guests were otherwise engaged; now seemed to be as good a time as any. "Michael, will you come outside with me for a second?"

"Of course," he said, though he looked puzzled at her sudden seriousness. She took his hand and led him out onto the balcony. "Are you alright, Alexa?" he asked, putting an arm around her waist. "You seem … distracted."

She sighed, then took both his hands. "Michael, there's something I have to tell you, before we go any further with this."

"With what, the party? Or the relationship? Alexa, if you've changed your mind –"

"I haven't," she said quickly, "I still want to marry you. It's just … I don't know if you'll want to marry me, after I've told you."

He frowned. "Alright. What is it?"

"It's … about my family. Who my parents are and – And –"

When she cut off the second time, it wasn't a voluntary action. It had more to do with the massive, furry hand which appeared out of nowhere and grabbed her around the waist. She let out a shocked cry, more of surprise than anything. She was already fifty feet higher than she had been, and still rising. When she looked away from Michael's stricken face, to whatever it was holding her, she gasped again. She was looking into the left nostril of the biggest gorilla she'd ever seen.

"What the –"

King Kong. King Kong had her.

* * *

**A/N: Review please**


	13. LaserLight

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews! And thank you to DaisyJane for the beta. There is a quote from a certain 90s movie in this chapter, brownie points to whoever gets it first :)**

_In the blink of an eye,  
_

_I was falling from the sky,  
_

_In the blur, you took my breath away,  
_

_And my heart starts beating,  
_

_And my lungs start breathing,  
_

_And the voice in my head starts screaming,  
_

_I'm alive,  
_

_You're like a laserlight burning down,  
_

_Burning down on me,  
_

_You're like a laserlight burning down,  
_

_Burning down on me,_

LaserLight—Jessie J

**Chapter Thirteen**

Ignoring the impossibility of the situation, Alexa stayed calm. She could escape with minimum effort if she needed to, but for now she was unharmed and being taken somewhere. Which meant either this was Gorilla Grodd reincarnated to … _really _big, or this ape was being used by someone else, for reasons unknown. But if she didn't struggle, then those reasons wouldn't remain unknown for long. The massive fingers around her squeezed tighter and crushed ribs. Reflexively, she pried the fingers holding her apart. As she did though, King Kong flickered somehow, went blue and wibbly like a hologram. And then it was gone completely, leaving her in mid-air.

Instinct would have saved her, obviously, but it didn't have to. Because after she'd fallen about three feet, someone caught her. "Oh."

"Are you alright?" Kal asked worriedly.

She nodded. "Humiliated, but fine."

"Humiliated?"

"Well, yeah. I was just _kidnapped_ and then _rescued_. That hasn't happened since I was- That's _never _happened." She smiled charmingly at him. "When anyone in the League asks, this was part of the plan to draw out King Kong, right?"

He grinned. "Right. Though you realise you could have stopped that thing without any effort, don't you?"

"Yeah, but not without blowing my cover," she pointed out. "I'm just a silly society heiress, remember? Completely harmless." He snorted, and Alexa laughed. "Well maybe not _completely _harmless. But I have a cover to maintain."

"You were about to tell your fiancé," he pointed out as he set her down on a roof.

She raised an eyebrow. "You were eavesdropping?"

"Not intentionally."

"Private conversations exist even when you have radar ears, Kal," she said heatedly. "I don't listen to everything I hear."

"I'm sorry," he said. "I shouldn't have done it and I don't know why I did."

"I have to tell Michael," she said, more gently now. "Aside from the fact that it would be unfair of me to marry him before he knows the truth, if I'm going to spend the rest of my life with him-"

"But you're not though," he interrupted quietly. "Alexa, he gets to spend the rest of his life with you, but you can't do the same. Don't make the mistake of thinking you can. It's a harsh lesson to learn, believe me."

She was torn between wanting to comfort him and still being annoyed. He'd given up that chance. She was interrupted by a great roar that went up across the city—this one not animal, but reptilian. They both looked east, to the river and to where a massive, five hundred foot high lizard was busy storming through the city's industrial district.

"Is that…Godzilla?" Alexa demanded.

"Looks like it. Godzilla and King Kong—what is going on?"

"I'll head to the Metrotower as soon as I can, find out where these things are coming from. Do you need backup?"

Kal shook his head. "I don't think so. After I'm done, I'll come to the Metrotower and we can track down whatever this is."

"Alright. Be careful."

She watched him go, and then was distracted by her cell phone ringing. Somehow she'd managed not to drop her purse in all the commotion. Caller-ID told her it was Michael. She answered in a fake shaky tone, "I-I'm alright, Michael."

He knew that she was intelligent and level-headed, but most normal people would at least be a bit freaked out after having King Kong grab them off a balcony. She couldn't explain everything about herself to him now, so she kept up appearances.

He let out an explosive breath of relief. "_Are you sure? You don't sound alright."_

Alexa stopped herself from rolling her eyes and continued in a quietly shocked voice. "I'm sure. Superman saved me."

"_I saw. Are you still with him?_"

"No, he dropped me off and went to deal with … Godzilla."

"_Where are you?_"

"Um … my best guess would be the roof of the art gallery," she said, looking at the buildings around her.

"_He couldn't have put you on a sidewalk?_" Michael muttered.

"I-I think he had other things on his mind, Michael. In any case I can get down."

"_How're you going to do that, fly?_"

She was unable to stop herself from rolling her eyes this time. "Roof access," she said patiently. There was a door, which was locked, but that really wasn't a problem. "Might need some help getting out of the building though."

"_I'm on my way._"

"Ask the President if you can borrow some of his security," she joked weakly.

As soon as she went inside the main corridors of the art gallery, the cameras picked her up and security guards were dispatched. Alexa had about a minute to turn herself into a blubbering trembling mess—so she proceeded to do just that. When the security guards careened around the corner with flashlights and tasers pointed squarely at her, Alexa had tears falling down her cheeks and she could barely walk. It wasn't subtle, but it fooled the guards.

"What the – Who the hell are you?"

Alexa burst into fresh sobs. "I – My name's … Oh my God …"

"Jesus, Henry, put that taser down!" the older guard barked to his partner. He turned back to Alexa. "It's Miss Wayne, isn't it? Alexandra Wayne?"

'Henry' snorted. "That's _not_ –"

Alexa nodded. "Yeah, I'm Alexa Wayne, c-can you help me? P-please? I need to get to my fiancé …"

"Okay, honey, we'll help you. How did you get in here?"

"There – There was – I don't even believe it, I – It's was King Kong. It was fucking King Kong, and I thought he was gonna kill me! B-but then Superman saved me –"

"That's what he does for folks here, ma'am, we're lucky to have him," the older guard said. "So he put you on the roof?"

"Y-yeah, but he had to go …"

Between the two guards, Alexa managed to get down to the lobby, slowly getting 'calmer' until her tears were almost over, for the time being. In the lobby, the Secret Service—looked like Michael had managed to borrow some of the President's along with his own—were physically breaking in through the glass doors. Michael was there, along with a huge crowd of paparazzi. When they had smashed their way in, no one apologised. Alexa burst into fresh sobs and threw herself into Michael's arms. He seemed just as convinced as everyone else by the act, or he understood the importance of it, because he didn't do anything except hug her closely, stroke her hair and whisper soothing words into her ear.

When she'd calmed down a bit, he pulled back. "Are you hurt?"

"D-don't think so," she sniffed, wiping her eyes.

He kissed her forehead. "Thank God. Come on, let's get out of here."

Fifteen minutes later, they were both in her hotel suite, Alexa tucked up in bed, feigning emotional exhaustion. To be fair, faking tears for a prolonged period could be tiring.

"Here," Michael said, passing her a glass of water and a small white pill. "Something to help you sleep."

She took it, and pretended to swallow both. Not that she didn't trust Michael, she did, but she also intended to go and help Kal as soon as possible, and even a tiny amount of drowsiness wouldn't help with that.

"Thanks."

He plumped up the pillows behind her. "You're welcome, honey."

The word sounded strange; it belonged to couples who weren't them—couples for whom 'darling', 'sweetheart' and 'love' came naturally. Couples who were deeply in love. Couples like her parents. She wrinkled her nose a little bit. "Don't call me that, Michael."

He nodded seriously. "Alright. Is there anything else you need, Alexa? Do you want me to stay with you?"

"No, I'll be alright. Thank you though. Would you give my apologies to everyone?"

"Of course." He kissed her. "I'll be back in an hour or so. Get some rest."

As soon as he was gone, Alexa got up and slipped her com-link into her ear. "Batwoman to Superman."

"_Get off the roof okay?" _

"Yeah. Had to fake a few tears, but I'm all yours now. What do you need?"

"_To find out where the hell these things are coming from. So far we've had Godzilla, a giant worm, a huge spider and a pterodactyl thing. They hit me, I hit back, land half a dozen blows and then they disappear like King Kong did._"

"Alright, I'll track down the source of the hard light constructs and get back to you. Batwoman out."

Next, she accessed the Batcave computer remotely, using voice-command her father had built into it decades ago. "Computer, beam suit two to my location."

"_Voice print accepted. Charging teleport now_."

A few seconds later, her batsuit was lying on the bed in front of her. She threw it on quickly and then opened the balcony doors and took to the sky. She headed for the balcony of the ballroom, diving down to the ground where she might find anything useful. She closed her eyes briefly, visualising where she had been when King Kong had appeared. Once she had, she went down to the ground to have a thorough search. She didn't find anything on the ground but then she noticed a tiny silver box attached to the wall.

Alexa scanned it with x-ray, infrared and for any other kind of energy signature, with no results. It appeared to be completely inactive, so she touched it, examining it more closely. It was plain, apart from a circular hole in the centre at the front, and a similar one at the top. Alexa took a small laser pointer from her belt, acting on a hunch, and lined it up with the front hole. A jet of red light lanced forwards, shifting diagonally to the left. She followed it to a building opposite and found another little box. This one linked to another, and so on. All in all, there were four silver boxes, forming a cage 200m square. Alexa pried the last one off the wall and pulled the casing apart. Clearly a computer of some sort, but she'd check through its programming when she got to the cave. The important thing was finding their source. There was definitely a receiver here, as well as the transmitter for King Kong, but it had obviously stopped receiving as soon as the gorilla had disappeared. In order to trace the signal, Alexa needed one of these boxes that was still active.

She touched her com-link. "Batwoman to Superman. Are you still being attacked?"

"_Yeah_," he said tightly. Then there was the unmistakable sound of a body being put through several metres of concrete. After the noise had faded, he said, "_Dragon this time_."

"I found what's causing them. Any chance you could keep this one busy without destroying it?"

"_You mean, can I let it breathe fire all over me and not hit it back, and do absolutely nothing else_?" he replied, apparently through gritted teeth.

"I didn't say do nothing," she said, shooting into the air. "You can dodge."

It was easy enough to find Kal and the dragon when she was in the air; they were making enough noise to wake the dead, then there were bursts of light and heat as fireballs rose into the air. If it was all simulated … it was a very clever piece of engineering. It looked like she was right about the limitations of it though—it wasn't actually moving much. Instead of heading to Kal to help, she dove down to the dragon's feet, looking for more of the silver boxes. It was a fairly simple task: they were connected by a blue line of light. She went quickly to the nearest one and pulled the casing off gently.

"_Got it yet?_"

"Not yet. Keep it busy."

She plugged her computer into the box, accessing the programming. It was guarded by firewalls, which was expected, but they were almost primitive compared to what she was used to. Within thirty seconds, she'd bypassed them.

At that moment, a Kryptonian slammed into the sidewalk not ten feet from her. He got to his feet almost immediately. "You know this plan of my dodging? It's not working."

"I'm back-tracing the signal now," she called back.

"Any great ideas in the meantime?"

"Just move faster."

"Move faster," he muttered. "Great idea."

Alexa's attention was focused on the computer in her hands; she barely noticed the dragon issuing a bellow of flame at her, or Kal using his own body as a shield. The computer was narrowing it down quickly. "United States … Eastern seaboard … Metropolis … come on, come on, come on …" Here though, the signal seemed to dither for too long, before finally settling in the park. "I've got it!" she yelled to Kal.

A second later, the dragon gave a huge roar as it was punched to earth. Kal followed it, and only he landed; the dragon disappeared into nothing before it hit the ground. Kal looked pretty beaten up himself. His suit was torn in several places and he had bruises coming up. Alexa checked the time—only a few hours till sun-up.

She put a gentle hand up, turned his face with a concerned frown. Black eye too. "You look like hell."

"Gee, thanks. Where's the signal coming from?"

She lowered her hand and pointed at the five-inch screen. "The park, southern end."

"Let's go then."

They were about halfway to the park when another roar went out across the city, this one more reptilian than even the dragon had been. Easy to see why—it was a hydra, three heads hissing and spitting in every direction.

"That's the hospital district," Kal said, heading for it.

Alexa caught his shoulder. "I'll deal with it. The machine in the park will probably be lightly guarded because of its location. Destroy it gently, if you can."

"Be careful."

Even knowing it was only a hologram (albeit a solid one) Alexa avoided severing any heads. Instead, she went for body shots, planting explosive devices where she could and blowing limbs off instead of heads. It might have been a mistake, since one of those heads suddenly swooped down to bite her head off – She threw her arm up, and the hydra broke its teeth on her bracer instead. Shortly afterwards, it disappeared.

"_Machine's down,_" Kal's voice said in her ear. "_Are you alright?_"

"Yeah. You need to get to sunlight as soon as possible though."

"_It'll be dawn in three hours._"

"It's already dawn over the Atlantic."

She could hear the smile in his voice. "_Yes, ma'am._"

"I'll see you in the Metrotower tomorrow."

No answer, which was a little odd, but he was probably in the middle of the ocean by now. She directed her message to the Metrotower instead. "Batwoman to Metrotower. Let me know when Superman checks in."

"_Roger that._"

She had less than five minutes to get back to her hotel room before the hour Michael had said he'd be gone was up. When she was back inside, she tore the batsuit off, stuffing it into her luggage and burying it under other clothes. Hardly ideal, but it would have to do. She'd only just slipped back into bed when the door opened, and Michael came in. Hastily, she covered her ear (com-link still in) with her hair.

Michael looked surprised to find her still up. "Hey. What're you still doing awake?"

"Couldn't sleep."

"Really? That pill should've knocked you out. Want another one?"

She shook her head. "Not now that you're here."

He smiled. "Give me five minutes."

After he'd changed for bed, Alexa actively snuggled, mindful that she was still supposed to be scared, seeking comfort. Michael's arms were warm and comfortable, and she had no problem drifting off into genuine, dreamless sleep in them.

* * *

"What do you mean, 'He hasn't checked in yet'?"

"I – I'm sorry, Batwoman," stammered the unfortunate civilian member of staff in front of her, "but he _didn't _check in, and –"

"Move out of the way," she snapped.

"But only I'm supposed to access –"

"_Move!_"

He moved, and Alexa scrolled quickly through the list of League members who had checked in or set foot inside the Metrotower within the last twenty-four hours. Kal's name was not on the list. Quickly, she checked for logs submitted. That was what had led to this situation; she'd emailed _her _report to the Metrotower to be added to Superman's, only for the Metrotower to respond with a denial that any such report had been received from Kal. It appeared they had been telling the truth. Worry was slowly blossoming into panic in the pit of her stomach. She had tried contacting Kal via his com-link—no answer.

"Where's his com-link location?" she barked at another technician.

"We're not getting a signal."

"Where did it place him the last time you did?"

"Metropolis Park, 1:17 a.m. yesterday."

The time when he suddenly hadn't replied to her. "Shit."

* * *

**A/N: Review please!**


	14. Chasing Pavements

**A/N: There is a chance that this is not the betaed chapter. But I'm sure DaisyJane will let me know if that's the case, and accept my apologies...I cannot track down the betaed version on my hard drive lol.  
**

**Thank you for the reviews everyone!  
**

_Or would it be a waste?  
_

_Even if I knew my place,  
_

_Should I leave it there?  
_

_Should I give up?  
_

_Or should I just keep chasing pavements?  
_

_Even if it leads nowhere.  
_

_I build myself up,  
_

_And fly around in circles,  
_

_Waiting as my heart drops,  
_

_And my back begins to tingle,  
_

_Finally, could this be,_

_It or, _

_Should I give up?  
_

_Or should I just keep chasing pavements?  
_

Chasing Pavements—Adele

**Chapter Fourteen**

The first place she went was back to that park. Once there, she contacted Tom. "Tommy, I need you to try and get a hold of Kal."

"_Why?_" he asked, tone a little bit irritated. Apparently she'd interrupted him doing something. Or someone. "_Can't you just do it your–_"

"No. There's a chance he may have disappeared. The League can't find him, and I'm heading to his last known location now. Call his apartment, go there if you have to."

"_Lexie, don't you think you're –_"

"Not in the slightest, Thomas, now _help me_."

"_Alright, alright. I'll let you know what I find._"

What Alexa found was absolutely nothing. She went to the exact coordinates the Metrotower had given her, and there was no trace of anything—not even the machine that had been producing the monsters. No scraps of metal, no wiring, not a trace of it. Just trees and flowers and everything one would expect to find in a park. Alexa modified her mask's vision and scanned it for anything at all. After more than an hour of careful searching, she finally found something. It was tiny, plastic and metal. And embossed with a J and L. Kal's com-link. She swallowed hard and prayed, before touching her own.

"Tom. Tell me you found him."

"_I didn't. He wasn't answering the phone and I've just reached his apartment. No sign of him._"

"I just found his com-link. It's damaged."

There was a pause. "_What d'you want to do?_"

"Contact the League. Tell them he's officially missing now. And assemble the council. We need a plan of action."

She continued sweeping the area for anything and everything she might have missed, any kind of evidence. She found only one thing—a ragged piece of cloth. She zoomed in on the structure of the material: high-density mesh, fire retardant and definitely belonging to Superman's suit. The edges were ragged, torn. So there had been a struggle. So someone had _taken _him. Alexa's fist curled around the material. Whoever they were, they'd pay. As Nemesis was her witness, she promised that. There was nothing else here, so she prepared to leave.

"I promise we'll find you, Kal. I promise I'll find you." She put a hand to her com-link. "Metrotower, engage transport."

Five minutes later, all the council members were assembled, and all of them looking equally concerned. J'onn spoke to Alexa. "You have reason to believe Superman is missing?"

"Yes. No one has seen or heard from him in over twenty four hours; I was the last person to see him, when he went to dismantle a machine that was projecting holographic monsters, attacking Metropolis."

Warhawk nodded. "We saw that, but just because he's been gone for a day doesn't necessarily mean anything. He was gone for months at a time before you convinced him to re-join the League, sometimes _years _at a time."

"I understand that," she said, "but since then, he's never missed a log, never switched his com-link off, I've just been down to Metropolis Park, and I found these." She put the com-link and material on the table. "They're both damaged, and there is no sign of the machine whatsoever."

"You think it was a trap?"

"I don't know, but I do think the state of both is indicative of a struggle."

Tom pulled out evidence bags and put both items in them. "I'll analyse them for anything significant back at the cave."

Ever the woman of action, Barda leaned forwards. "Right, we need to eliminate the places he could be. Has anyone checked the Fortress? Batwoman, where was the last place he _might _have been going?"

"The Atlantic. He was heading for sunlight."

"Okay, we'll check both."

Warhawk made a disparaging noise. "Entire aircraft disappear in the Atlantic Ocean—what are the chances of finding one man?"

"Rex, thank you for volunteering," Barda said.

"J'onn, is there any way you might be able to sense or hear him?" Alexa asked. "Any way you could isolate Kal from the rest of the thoughts you hear?"

"I can certainly try."

"Thank you."

"I'll have a look for boom-tube signatures," Barda said, "get in touch with High Father. Might be a long shot, but …"

_Darkseid_. That raised a whole new list of terrifying possibilities, but for now Alexa chose to ignore them. "I'll check the Fortress. We'll rendezvous here in two hours with whatever we have."

"Agreed."

They each went their separate ways, Alexa flying to the Arctic in the invisible jet and then using the underwater entrance to access it. She was on her guard, unsure of the defences that might be in place. There seemed to be nothing but very thick walls and an equally thick door barring her progress. Beside the door was a facial recognition scanner. Knowing it wouldn't work, she pulled her mask off anyway and stepped forwards.

The machine beeped, scanned her face and then, remarkably, said, "Batwoman, recognised. Welcome."

"Goddesses bless you, Kal," she murmured, going further inside.

The sheer vastness of it took her breath away. Themyscira's temples and palaces were huge, and grandeur was everywhere there. Somehow, knowing Kal, she hadn't expected anything like this. The ceiling towered three hundred feet above her; directly in front, and almost reaching up to that was an enormous statue of two people, balancing a world on their outstretched fingertips. A man and a woman—his parents? Coming off the main hall here were several other passageways. Without hope of answer, Alexa stood still for a moment.

"Kal? Kal, are you here?"

Once the echoes had died, she started down the first passageway. It led to what she assumed was the Fortress' living quarters. It was pretty Spartan. A bed/couch thing that looked incredibly uncomfortable (but then she didn't know how often Kal needed to sleep), a computer (presumably for monitoring Earth), a few potted plants (none of which looked terrestrial), and a shelf full of photographs. Alexa looked at them in turn. Each one filled in a little piece of the things she didn't know about Kal. The first was of a smiling couple, arms around each other, with what looked like a farm in the background. Jonathan and Martha Kent. Then a graduation photo—Hera, he looked so _young—_and a prom picture too. On his arm was a girl with red hair. She was very pretty. It made Alexa feel a bit better about her chances; there had once been a woman he'd loved who wasn't Lois Lane then. There were a few photos of people in the League; her parents, the original GL, the Flash. Even one of Kal with a white dog.

But one thing could not be ignored about the pictures: more than half of them were Kal pictured with, or sometimes her alone, Lois. Alexa picked up their wedding photograph, immediately knowing two things. First, she did not have a hope of looking that happy in _her _wedding photos. Second, Kal had not been looking at Lois with a rose-tinted memory. She really was that beautiful. They really did look like the perfect couple. Making sure her fingers hadn't smudged the glass, Alexa put it carefully back on the shelf. She quashed the slight ache in her chest. She had a job to do.

She went back out into the main hall and down another passage. It was a long, wide, well-lit tunnel with glass walls. Behind the glass were creatures Alexa had only ever seen in her dreams—or her nightmares. Most only watched her pass with blank curiosity, but some held out their hands plaintively, or snarled and growled. There was still no sign of Kal. The next passage held a similar menagerie, only of flora this time. That didn't stop some of _them_ looking at her hungrily. She stayed there for the entirety of her two hours, looking for any sign of Kal. She even went inside the zoo and risked her limbs if not her life, but there was no trace of him. She also found what looked like food, so she distributed that and watered the plants before she left.

She felt strange—twitchy, panicked, but full of a nervous energy. The worry had settled into her bones now, was a cold lead weight in the pit of her stomach. She didn't worry that he was dead. She knew, somehow, that he wasn't … just like she _would _know if he was.

She went back up to the Metrotower to find everyone else hadn't had much success either. The Atlantic Ocean, as Warkhawk had rightly pointed out, was almost a dead end to begin with. According to Barda's information, no boom tube had opened on Earth in the last two months that hadn't been authorised, and from what High Father said, Apokolips was just as inactive as it had been for decades.

"I've been working on isolating Kal's thought-patterns," J'onn told them, "filtering out what is not him."

"Anything?"

"Perhaps something. I have almost been able to do it, several times, but each time something else intervenes and I lose him. If it is him."

"Keep trying. Tom?"

"Couple of things." He held up the bag with the com-link in it. "There are scratches on this that were made by something sharp and narrow, spaced closely together and very fine."

"Claws?"

"I wouldn't have said so. More like barbs, or thorns."

"Alright. And the material?"

"Nothing special about it really. A few flakes of skin, but that's Kal's, no blood, a few pollen spores, but you found it in a park, so that's not really surprising."

Alexa searched around for the next plan. "Is GL still on Oa?"

"Yeah. She isn't scheduled back for three days."

"I'll contact her and brief her on the situation. See if she can put the word out."

"I think it's unlikely he's been taken off-planet," Barda said.

"So do I. But it's a possibility, however remote."

"Alright."

Twenty minutes later, she was on a secure holo-channel with her sister-in-law, in her private quarters. "Hey, Mira."

"What's going on, Alexa? I'm guessing something's up, or you wouldn't have needed to speak to me so urgently."

Alexa nodded. "Superman's disappeared. Signs are he was forcibly abducted."

"Forcibly? How many people in the universe could do that?"

"Exactly. We've found no trace of him anywhere. It's unlikely, but he may have been taken from Earth. Not by a boom tube, Barda's already checked, but while you're there …"

"See if there's another way?"

"Yeah. And put the word out that he's missing—discretely. I really don't think we need the whole universe knowing we no longer have a Superman, but equally, someone out there might have some information."

"Alright, I'll see what I can find out. Anything else you need?"

"That's it."

"Okay. Lantern out."

* * *

Mira returned, as scheduled, three days later with no news. Alexa had spent those three days existing on coffee and doing nothing but search for Kal. There were avenues to pursue: the devices that projected the original monsters; the pollen Tom had found; any private collections of kryptonite anywhere in the world; searching every damn drop of the Atlantic Ocean if they had to—alright, so maybe that last one was impractical, but goddammit, he had to be _somewhere, _didn't he?

The silver transmitter/receiver was made in Eastern Europe somewhere, but it was the programming which interested Alexa. She ran it through the computer and accessed the code. It wasn't like any computer code she'd ever seen before. Ordinarily, she could read code as easily as she could English, but while some of this _looked _similar, it was structured strangely. Trying to extract any sense from it was giving her a headache. Either that or the lack of sleep was giving her a headache. She covered her eyes briefly and attempted to make the pain go away.

"Computer, run diagnostics and try to find a comparative sample."

Less than twenty seconds later, the computer beeped, having found such a sample. It coded for a different programme but it was the same style. "Identify sample origin."

"Example origin: Solevar, Gorilla City."

Gorilla City? The _Gorillas_ had attacked Metropolis, taken Kal? Alexa shook her head. Even to her sleep-deprived mind, it seemed ridiculous. But it did lead to a possibility she hadn't thought of yet: Gorilla Grodd. Who was dead. She let out a groan of frustration and pounded her fists into her temples.

"Come _on_, Alexa! Think, think, think …" She started pacing, talking to herself. "Okay, so the code is Grodd's … but Grodd is dead so it can't be him—unless he's not dead. But Dad is sure he _is_, according to the records. Good enough for me. And the firewalls _were _ancient … There was no sign of quantum mechanics or organic algorithms. So chances are someone else is using it!" she finished, smiling.

The satisfaction of working that out faded though, when she realised that it didn't help in finding Kal _at all_. She knew who hadn't taken him, but had no idea who had. The list of people, civilisations or creatures with grudges against Superman was not a short one. Eliminating suspects one by one would take forever. Kal had already been gone seventy-two hours. It was all Alexa could do at the moment to stop her investigator's brain listing all the odds.

"Okay, computer's a bust … pollen. Let's look up the pollen."

She was alone in the cave—Tom was on patrol in Gotham while other League members were taking care of Metropolis. The press had gotten a hold of the story today, so everyone in the world knew Kal was missing now. Something else she had to hold against the papers. She was all for freedom of speech, but when it came with such irresponsibility …

Tom had already chemically analysed the pollen, but hadn't had chance to run it through the database. Forensically speaking, pollen tended to be a useful tool; if the plant it came from grew in specific locations, or was a particularly rare breed. This one, as it turned out, was both picky and rare. So rare, in fact, that it didn't have a name, and her father had found it only once, in the old Arkham Asylum. But that was increasingly helpful from her point of view: there was only one place to check.

She pulled her mask over her face and refilled the pouches of her belt, and was just about to go when the noise of a hover engine could be heard. A second later, the batmobile swooped into the cave, and Thomas hopped out once he had parked the vehicle.

"All okay?" she asked.

"Fine. You look like you're going out."

She nodded. "Arkham. Old Asylum. Back soon."

Tom caught her arm. "Lexie, you haven't slept in three days. "

"Your point?"

"Your judgement's off, your brain isn't functioning properly, you need a shower and you need some food before you can even begin to be up for going out anywhere."

"Tom, he's been gone seventy-two hours—at this point every minute could count, and I don't intend to waste any of them! I'm fine!"

"He's been gone longer than three days before, Alexa; the whole world thought he was dead once, remember? There was a funeral, a monument erected in his memory –"

"Yeah, and Dad refused to give up on him!" she snapped back. "So neither will I!"

"All I'm saying is he's come through stuff like this before and been fine at the end of it, so how do you know this isn't one of those times?"

"How do you know it is? I'm not willing to risk his life on chance, Tom! At the moment, Kal is alive, and I'm going to do everything I can to keep him that way, and find him that way! I don't have time to waste on sleeping!"

She pushed past her brother and took to the air. Arkham Asylum—the old one—really was Gotham's underbelly, buried underneath layers of modern offices and roads. It was a haven for the homeless for the most part now, the occasional rambling lunatic who had nowhere else to go. The criminally insane ended up in the new Arkham now—altogether fewer of them, and far less dangerous than the inmates had once been.

When Alexa landed, it was completely deserted, no noise apart from the buildings quietly falling apart, the rust slowly eating away into metal. She pulled her computer out. On it, she had loaded her father's map of Arkham as it was—a guided path straight to where the pollen had been found the first time—in Poison Ivy's quarters, or cell, really. She was about halfway there, walking since she didn't want to miss anything, when a New God descended through a hole in the ceiling on an energy disc.

Alexa put her hands on her hips. "Let me guess: my brother sent you."

"No, he just mentioned he was concerned for you," Barda replied. "I volunteered to come find you."

"Well, you found me."

"Yep. And now I'm going to come with you. Why are we here in this pit, by the way? I've seen nicer places on Apokolips."

Alexa ground her teeth in frustration. "We're here because I think there might a be lead about Kal. The pollen Tom found on his clothing was really rare, only ever been found in one place. Here."

Barda nodded, and the two women continued into the gloom. "Try not to be too hard on Tom. He's worried about you."

"I'm not the one who's missing. If he wants to worry about anyone, it should be Kal."

"We're all worried about Kal. But we're still finding time to eat and sleep in between looking for him," Barda pointed out.

"Then I'm very happy for you. _I _can't. Even if I tried I couldn't."

"Alexa, you're not acting like yourself. You're being irrational. Illogical."

"Well how could you be if it were Scott who'd gone missing?" Alexa retorted, without thinking.

"Pretty devastated," Barda admitted. "But Kal doesn't mean to you what Scott means to me…" she paused and looked sharply at her friend. "Or does he?"

"I –" Finding she had no words, Alexa clamped her mouth shut and turned away.

Barda's jaw dropped. "He _does_?"

"I just want to find him, Barda," Alexa said quietly, her cheeks flaming now.

Unfortunately, that wasn't going to cut it with Barda. She took Alexa's shoulders and physically turned Alexa to face her. "Lexie, are you in love with him?"

* * *

**A/N: Review please**


	15. Devotion

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews! And thank you for the wonderful and amazing DaisyJane. If you've never read any of her fics (and frankly, where have you been?), then now is the time, because she is a truly fantastic** writer.

_Used to be so close to me,  
_

_Everything happened so easily,  
_

_Life with you was like a dream,  
_

_Without you, there's no way to be,  
_

_Need your devotion,  
_

_Need your devotion,  
_

_Ready to love,  
_

_Do you want it or not?  
_

_Can we find a way to bring it back again?  
_

Devotion—Jessie Ware

**Chapter Fifteen**

Alexa gave Barda the glare that her family was famous for having.

Barda just raised an eyebrow and gave her a look that said without any words 'I helped change your diapers, that face won't work on me'. "Answer the question," she commanded.

Seeing she was definitely not going to back down on this topic, Alexa sighed. "I don't know. I'm not … not in love with him."

Barda's jaw dropped. "But what about Michael? You're getting _married –_"

"Michael and I don't love each other. And waiting for Kal, I could wait a hundred years. It makes sense to keep myself occupied."

Barda let her go. "Cool and clever. _Now _you're sounding more like you."

"Good—now can we get on with this please?"

"So what if –"

"Barda, now is not the time."

"Alright, fine. But we're not done discussing it."

"I wouldn't dare to hope we were," Alexa muttered.

When they got to Poison Ivy's cell, it was obvious they weren't the first there recently. The fences and bars around it had been broken not too long ago. The locks had been either cut through with bolt-cutters (the edges were clean, sharp, no sign of rusting) or a blowtorch had been taken to them. They had to step over the door to get inside. The cell was large, thirty feet wide with a glass ceiling. It looked like a ruined arboretum, shrivelled trees and plants hugging the walls or littering the floor. All of them were dried, brown, and clearly dead. There was also one body. Alexa kicked him over.

"Male, mid-twenties. Judging by the blood around his various facial orifices, I'd say he was poisoned." She bent down to look at his eyes; they were dull and filmed over, but his pupils were wide and fixed. "Dilated. That's pharmacological."

"From plant life, right?" Barda asked.

"Right."

Alexa stood again, eyes roving around for any sign of movement from anything around them. There was nothing. She looked back again at the man. "Rigor is completely established, and decomposition is beginning. I'd say he's been dead about a week. Maybe a few days more."

"Look at this," Barda said. She was nudging a withered flower head with her foot, that had sharp, pointed stamens with a pair of tweezers, putting it into her belt for analysis later.

"And then there's _that_," Barda said.

It was easy to see what she meant—at the far end of the cell was what could only be described as a throne. It was one huge plant that reminded Alexa of a rose, petals unfurled. Except there was nothing in the centre of it. There had been, it looked like, but there was a stump that had been hacked away. The edge of what remained were dry wrinkled, with only the inside remaining wet. Alexa pulled a cotton bud out and took another sample.

"It was probably cut at the same time he died," Alexa surmised.

"But what killed him? And what did his friends take?" Barda asked.

Batwoman sighed. "No idea yet. In any case staying here doesn't get us any closer to finding Kal. Come on, let's go. We'll tell the GCPD where to find the body," she said, indicating the body.

Barda was frowning thoughtfully. "Poison Ivy's dead, isn't she?"

"She last appeared well over seventy years ago. If she's not –"

"_Batcave to Batwoman._"

"Go ahead."

"_Michael called for you. Again._"

"What d'you tell him?"

"_That you had a cold and you were in bed. He's concerned about you. He's not the only one._"

"Have you found anything else useful? Arkham was a bust."

"_Nothing._"

"Fine. On our way back now."

Barda clasped her shoulder comfortingly. "Chances are he's fine, you know. Anyone else I'd say was in trouble, but Kal's been dodging the odds for most of his life."

Alexa's answering smile was sad. "Thanks, Barda. But you and I both know that the fact he's cheated death before is just stacking the odds higher against him now. It's been three days. Soon it'll be a week."

"Lexie, you can't give up."

Surprised by the comment, Alexa frowned. "No one said anything about giving up, Barda. I – I'm just –"

"Terrified," Barda finished quietly.

"But I'll find him."

Barda squeezed her hand. "I know."

The next day, Alexa's cell phone rang. It was the sixth such time in 24 hours, and she knew it was Michael calling her. She knew she should pick up. He was worried about her. And maybe he didn't love her—but he still cared for her. Still biting her lip, she reached for the phone and answered it. She didn't need to sound hoarse, or exhausted.

"Hello, Michael."

"_Alexa._" His voice was warm, relieved. It still wasn't the voice she wanted to hear. "_Are you alright? I've been trying to reach you_ –"

"I know. I'm really sorry. I've been pretty out of it for a few days. Still feel like crap, actually."

"_You don't sound well,_" he remarked. "_Wish I was with you_."

"You're busy," she murmured, thanking the gods that he was. She couldn't focus on two things at once right now, much less two lives.

"_I'm going to try and come see you tomorrow. I miss you_."

"Miss you too. How are you?"

"_I am absolutely sick of hotel room service food and giving speeches to people who don't seem to care,_" he groused.

She smirked. "I can imagine."

There were voices on Michael's end, and then he said, "_Sorry, Alexa, I've got to go. I'll call you tomorrow and let you know if I can make it to Gotham. Rest up and take care of yourself, okay?"_

"I will. Talk to you tomorrow."

"_Bye._"

"Bye."

Two days later, Michael finally made it to Gotham. Alexa didn't waste any time; up until the last moment she was still in the cave. She was now in the shower, hurriedly trying to make herself look at all presentable. She had no time to dry her hair before she went downstairs to see him. Nor did she have any time for makeup, so her dark-circled eyes were on show for all the world to see.

Michael looked happy to see her, and greeted her with a kiss and a hug. When he pulled back, it was to hold her face between his hands with a worried frown. "You look awful."

She managed a laugh. "Thanks. You look old, by the way."

"Sorry. Didn't mean it like that."

"No, I know. Do you want some coffee?"

"Love some."

Alexa was very glad when he didn't ask for a cappuccino. Michael liked his coffee strong and black. She had hers the same, needing the caffeine right now, and they sipped quietly. They talking about the campaign, about Alexa's 'illness' and the events of the world, and every moment was like having her fingernails slowly pulled out. Finally, Michael said something that caught her interest.

"I guess you've heard about Superman?"

Wordlessly, she nodded.

"He's been gone five days now. You know what the media are saying."

She had purposefully avoided the media, and physically turned away from the subject now, walking over to the dishwasher and putting their cups in it. "I can imagine."

Michael walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Alexa had to grit her teeth against the sob that suddenly forced itself way into her throat. Oblivious, Michael said, "They're all forgetting we've been through this before," Michael commented, his tone still too light. "With Superman. Whole world thought he was dead at one point."

"I know, I – read about it. Do you really think that's what's happened this time? That he's – he's okay somewhere?"

"I don't see any reason to doubt it."

She nodded and let her breath go in a long, quiet exhale. They were silent for a moment, and then Michael said, "I'm sorry I can't stay longer."

"That's okay. Hopefully it won't be long before I'm back with you."

"I was thinking …"

"You were thinking?" she asked absently.

"Perhaps we should get married straight away."

Startled, Alexa looked up from her worrying. "What?"

"What do you think?"

"Of marrying immediately? I don't know, Michael—the proposal was soon enough, but having the wedding now? Wouldn't that look impulsive?"

"No. It would seem as if we knew the full value of life. Carpe Diem, and all that."

"This is about Superman, isn't it?" she realised, appalled. "His disappearance—it's drawing attention from your campaign and you want something big and sensational to bring the attention back to you." She pushed away from him. "Michael, no! That's disgusting!"

"Why is it?" he asked. "It's just politics, Alexa."

Feeling tears rise to her eyes, she turned away from her fiancé. "Then I need to think about politics. And my involvement in them."

"Alexa, you knew –"

"Apparently I didn't!" she snapped. When silence erupted, she shook her head and turned away, leaving the kitchen. "I think you should leave. Just – Just give me a few days, Michael. Don't call me."

* * *

It was around seven days when J'onn succeeded in finding Kal. For Alexa, it was like a week of fervent prayer had finally paid off and the gods had delivered Kal back to her. Although, they had dropped him off in the middle of nowhere; the centre of that same Atlantic Ocean he had been heading to in the first place.

On hearing the news, there were so many feelings running through Alexa all at once that she couldn't name all of them. But joy was above all of them. Batwoman did not smile, ever, but the insides of her cheeks hurt from the attempts to stop a huge grin from spreading across her face.

When she got to the Metrotower, he was still in the midst of the various tests that were naturally being run. They included CT scans, ultrasounds and an MRI, as well as an ECG and a less dramatic psychological evaluation than the last one. Clustered outside the tiny medical room were most of the council members—Barda, J'onn, Scott, GL and Warkhawk were all there, all looking through the glass observation window. Alexa had no idea what they looked like, whether relieved or suspicious—her eyes and attention were locked on Kal.

And that was where it started to go wrong.

Because despite the fact that there was a two-way mirror, he should have looked up. He should have known she was there. She did not expect a smile, did not expect a wave or a nod even. Just eye contact would have been enough. Just a look. She didn't get that. She didn't get anything. And he was chatting and smiling with the medics, but there was something wrong with that smile. It was too wide, too white, too modern. It wasn't the old-fashioned, charming grin she knew so well, that made her heart beat faster. But maybe that was because it hadn't been directed at her.

She edged closer to J'onn. "All well?"

He nodded. "It seems to be. Normal thought patterns, and he seems himself. More alert than he was when he came in."

As if to verify that, the doctor came outside, smiling widely. "How is he?" Alexa asked immediately. "Is he … him?"

"I would say so, at least as far as the tests can tell. And you'd all know better then me. He's no memory of anything though. Nothing in the last seven days."

"Nothing at all?" Barda asked. "So he has no idea who took him, where he's been …?"

"Apparently not."

_J'onn. Can you confirm that?_

He looked surprised, but his eyes glowed briefly orange. _He does not remember anything, from a cursory examination._

_But you don't know for sure. _

_I would have to go deeper._

Well, that wasn't happening. If it was something really bad, it would be obvious, she reasoned. _Thank you, J'onn._

Everyone went inside to welcome Kal back—Alexa would have held back anyway, out of discretion, knowing that if she didn't hold back then she would have thrown herself into his arms. But now, she was at the back of the group because there was a niggling in the depths of her mind that something here was not quite … right. There were smiles, handshakes, and a couple of hugs from everyone.

But after he'd greeted the others, he said, "But where's Batwoman?"

"I'm here."

He looked up then, and there was that smile again. The old shiver ran up her back. Cold though. Such a cold, cold shiver. Telling herself it was entirely her imagination, she smiled back. "Kal. Are you alright?"

"Fine. You?"

She nodded. "Fine."

Barda sent her a look that clearly read, _What are you doing, you crazy woman_? but Alexa ignored it. For some reason, she had no fear about what he might think of a such a cool greeting.

"Did you miss me?" Kal asked with a grin.

Flirting? He was flirting with her in front of other people? "We all did," she responded casually. "It's good to have you back."

She left as soon as she could, politely. She wanted to be elsewhere, until she could pinpoint what was making her so uneasy. But Kal followed her. The sense of unease increased. So markedly, so pointedly singling her out. So … not Kal. She heard the noise of him blurring to her side. That smile.

"Do you have to rush off?" he asked pleasantly.

She searched his gaze briefly. The same blue it had always been. No hostility, no deception. But still. She wished they weren't alone. "Yeah," she said. "Sorry. Gotham calls."

"I thought Gotham didn't call anymore."

"There's some arms smuggling going down tonight at the docks. The police should be able to handle it, but I want to be there just in case."

"Want some company?" he asked immediately.

"Thanks, but I think it'll be fine. Plus have the docs cleared you for active duty yet? And you've been gone an entire week, Kal, with no idea where you've been or why. I would have thought you would be focusing on filling in those blanks."

"Of course I want to find out what happened—but I don't know anyone better at tracking down clues than you."

"Believe me, Kal, I tried to find every clue I could. J'onn found you, I didn't. That should probably tell you something."

"I'm sure we could find more if we worked together."

"We will," she replied. "But like I said; Gotham needs me tonight. I'll come see you when I can. I – I really am glad you're back."

"Me too. I missed you."

Then he kissed her. It was short, almost so quick she wasn't sure he'd done it, and then he was gone, and there was a strange taste on her lips and she felt light-headed. She frowned, touching her mouth. "I miss you too."

She hadn't lied about the arms smuggling. It was happening, but she was absolutely confident that the GCPD could handle it. And she _had _been planning on going there. Now she wasn't. Now she was going straight to the Batcave and investigating just where this bad feeling was coming from. She went over everything—the exact position Kal had been picked up, the tests they had run on him. MRI had shown brain function to be relatively normal, Ultrasound that there were no internal foreign bodies, CT likewise. His heart rate had been slightly elevated, but that was easily explainable. And J'onn had been certain that on the surface at least, Kal's thoughts were as they should be. But he _had _admitted that it would take a more in-depth exploration of his mind to be 100% sure. And then there had been that kiss …

She was certain that unless something drastic had happened, Kal would not have kissed her. In fact he would have gone out of his way not to show any preferential treatment to her. And unless Alexa underestimated how much she'd wanted him to kiss her, she didn't think she'd get dizzy from something that quick. If he'd kissed her passionately, deeply, kissed her in a way she felt from her head to her toes—that was one thing. And she finally knew what had been wrong with his smile. It spoke of welcome but no pleasure. It was a _step onto my web, little fly_ smile.

"_Barda to Batwoman._"

"I'm here."

"_What the hell was that?_" Barda demanded, no preamble.

Alexa grimaced. "What the hell was what?" she asked, trying to sound innocent.

"_Don't give me that, Alexa. You don't sleep for a week, you don't _eat _you're so focused on finding him, you practically tell me you're in _love _with him, and then you can't be in the same room as him for five minutes?_"

How did she put this? She wasn't even sure what she suspected … "Barda –"

"_Did you get cold feet? Were you thinking about Michael? I know you're conflicted, Alexa, but I wouldn't be surprised if Kal's convinced you don't feel anything for him –"_

"Barda, it's not him."

" – _because there was nothing – What?"_

"I don't think that's Kal."

A pause. "_But we ran tests. After what happened with Starro, no one took any chances. We tested everything we could._"

"Exactly," Alexa muttered.

"_You lost me._"

"Everything we could. What about what we couldn't?"

"_Well what _can't _we test?"_

"His blood. You'd have to fashion a needle out of kryptonite to get it through his skin, and even then you couldn't risk using it in case a piece of it snapped off and gave him blood poisoning."

"_Yeah, I see how that would be problematic_ …"

"But you still don't follow me, do you?"

"_Not in the slightest. Alexa, he's _back_. I thought this was what you wanted?"_

"It _is_. But something's wrong, Barda, and I can't explain how I know, or what it is. But that's not Kal. At least not the Kal I know. Can you understand that?"

The deep and lasting silence on the other end of the line indicated that Barda really couldn't.

* * *

**A/N: Review please! **


	16. You Give Love A Bad Name

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews! I hope this clears things up a little bit with regard to what's happened to Kal. And thank you as always to the wonderful DaisyJane.  
**

_Shot through the heart,_

_And you're to blame,_

_Darlin' you gave love,_

_A bad name, _

_An angel's smile,  
_

_Is what you sell,  
_

_You promise me Heaven,  
_

_Then put me through Hell,  
_

_Chains of love,  
_

_Got a hold on me,  
_

_When passion's a prison you can't break free,  
_

You Give Love A Bad Name—Bon Jovi

**Chapter Sixteen**

Thomas had a similar reaction to Barda, only he wasn't sure there was anything deeper than friendship going on in his sister's heart. It seemed like no one understood her disquiet. There was just … _something_ … though Thomas, at least, asked practical questions and threw up logical obstacles.

"Alexa, J'onn only found him because he picked up his thoughts. If it wasn't Kal, we wouldn't have found him."

"It could be periodic."

"Then why didn't he sense it once we got Kal to the Metrotower?'

"At first, the same reason. After that, maybe he just wasn't looking. And he said himself, he'd have to go deeper into Kal's mind to be absolutely sure. Doesn't it seem strange that he doesn't really seem bothered that he can't remember what happened?"

"You have a point there. Okay—well, if your theory is correct, and we should have tested his blood, how do you propose going about that?"

"I don't."

He stared. "Okay, now you've lost me. If you can't prove your theory –"

"Oh, I'll prove my theory. But there's more than one way to skin a cat. I'm just going to find another way to prove it."

"Without risking your life, right?" he asked, slightly nervously.

"If you're right and I'm wrong, then I won't be risking anything except offending Kal, will I?"

He groaned. "Alexa, you know I hate it when you say things like that. It inevitably leads to you getting hurt."

"So you believe me, about Kal?"

"I _can't_. All the evidence says very strongly that he is exactly as he was when he disappeared. I'll admit, the week-long gap in his memory is problematic –"

"Problematic and highly convenient," she put in.

"Convenient for who?"

"Whoever took him!"

"We don't know if anyone took him!"

"That's complete bullshit," she snapped. "You're twisting the facts to fit your theory, which is completely the wrong way to go about investigating any type of crime, and you know it. Dad and Terry taught you better than that."

"Maybe, but so far your theory doesn't exactly fit the facts either!"

She looked at him gravely. "As I said. I will prove I am right. You may either help me or leave me alone."

"Oh may I? Thank you so much for your permission, Your Highness!"

He left the cave, and ten minutes later she heard the roar of car engines as he headed out. Alexa continued her work alone, with a defiant temper. She had meant what she'd said; she would prove she was right, and she would do so by herself if no one believed her. It was hard to keep her thoughts away from Kal though. If he was here, the real him, he'd believe her. She knew he would. And physically … it was him. Kryptonian saliva was a lot easier to come by than Kryptonian blood after all, and the sample had been tested but the result showed nothing conclusive. But mentally …

Brain-washing was a possibility. It had happened before. Darkseid again. But there was no evidence that Darkseid still existed and even if he did, one week was hardly sufficient to alter Kal so much. She had more faith in him than that. Drugs were another option. But that would have to be a seriously sophisticated chemical blend to target his personality, his will, but leave his thought patterns and brainwaves intact. Third was human error. Specifically, hers. Even though her gut told her she was right, her intellect had to examine the possibility. Was it that she had simply misjudged Kal? Maybe he wasn't as warm and kind and _super_ as she had always felt him to be. After all, Terry, Barda, Warhawk … all of them were certain that he was his usual self. Technically it could be possible that –

Alexa shook her head in disgust. No. It was _not _possible. If it made her arrogant to think that she knew him better than anyone else, then so be it, because it was true. She knew him. She had not been wrong about him. Maybe she should contact her parents…they knew Kal better than anyone alive…

"Blood analysis completed. One anomalous compound detected," the computer announced.

Alexa felt a little thrill. It had been her blood, and there was something wrong with it. She had tested it based on the hunch that she couldn't get that dizzy from one kiss even if it was from Kal. And there was something her blood that shouldn't be there. "Identify."

Immediately, the computer began flickering through long lists of chemicals. They were plants, animal extracts, manmade concoctions, over twenty million possibilities. It could take hours to trace what it was. So there was nothing else to do but wait, so Alexa sat down to do just that. Immediately, fatigue threatened to overwhelm her. She hadn't slept in a week, after all, not for more than about twenty minutes at a time. _And then he has the gall not to be himself when he _does _turn up … _Couldn't hurt to close her eyes for a few minutes. Just a few … minutes …

* * *

The next second, a ball had hit her in the face. Or was about to—her impeccable reflexes saved her, and she caught it. "Oh _man_! I'm so sorry, lady!" a kid's voice shouted.

"It's alright," she said, handing the kid his ball back. She watched the little boy run back to his game knowing he was a figment of her imagination. She was dreaming. Having accepted that, Alexa looked around for a meaning or a narrative. It would come. She was here for a reason. It was reality, yet it wasn't.

She was on a park bench. The park was wide, the day was bright, but the blue sky was lit by stars as well as the sun. There was a glass pavilion shimmering in the distance, but too far for Alexa ever to reach. There was a wide lawn; a children's playground—slide, water running down it, swings, a seesaw balanced on nothing at all, sand-pit that melded into a beach. People of all ages milled about along the red-brick path. Children held hands with their parents and old friends strolled along. Alexa knew every person who passed, but she couldn't name anyone. Coming up to her were a mother and child—Hippolyta, and a little girl she knew to be Diana. The little girl had a yellow balloon. About ten feet from behind them was a man in a business suit with a briefcase, obviously on his way to work. The glasses and the purely dark hair did not disguise him to her eyes.

"Mommy! Mommy, my balloon!"

Little Diana had let go accidentally, and the helium-filled sphere was blown away from her. Until it got to the man, who jumped only _slightly _higher than he should have been able to, in order to reach the balloon ribbon. Once he had it, he handed it back to the little girl with a smile.

"Thanks, mister!" little Diana grinned.

He smiled, and Alexa's heart skipped a beat. _There _was her smile. "You're welcome, miss." He adjusted his glasses and continued on his way.

There was a wistful sigh from next to Alexa. "My hero."

Still in the dream-state, Alexa turned to look at Lois Lane without any particular surprise. Her violet eyes were still on the man in the suit, and there was a soft, slightly sad smile on her face. She glanced at Alexa briefly. "You know him, don't you?"

"Of course.'

"You think you'd know him anywhere?"

"I know I would."

"Then why are you doubting it?" Lois shook her head, sighed. Then they were walking together, down a street in Gotham that was paved with grass. "Look, Lexie—is it okay if I call you Lexie?"

"Um … sure."

"Lexie, If you're going to do this, you've got to be convinced of yourself and him. You've got to _know_. You know him. There's no point in second-guessing yourself. You either are sure or you're not. If you're prepared to stick to your guns and alienate everyone else just so you can fight for him—_then_ you're worthy."

"Like you?"

Lois shrugged. "Whether I was or not isn't for me to judge."

"Are you real?"

"What is your definition of real? I am the reality that you need right now."

"Oh…okay…"

"You're at a crossroads. I'm here to tell you not to give up, because Kal needs you. And thanks, by the way."

"For what?"

"For listening. He needs someone to listen to him and be there for him. Otherwise the grief is overwhelming." She stopped and offered her hand. Alexa took it; firm and cool. "Now there's only one thing left to do."

"What's that?"

"For you to go save him."

* * *

"Sample match found," the computer said calmly. "Compound identified."

Alexa jerked awake, shaking her head rapidly to clear it of the dream. "Well, that was weird …" she muttered, leaning forward to look at the screen.

The result had come from a file of her father's that was a good eighty years old. Its parent file was one of his rogues, and this sub-file was under 'List of Known Used Toxins'. Looking at it, every single one of the unanswered questions—bar one—were instantly solved. The blockage in Alexa's mind was dissolved, and a flood of solutions raced through her brain. Now all she needed …

"Nanites. I need lots and _lots _of nanites."

Nanotechnology was hardly new science, but in this case she was confident that it would be highly effective. Unfortunately she just had to build the nanites and program them, since she'd need them for a specific purpose. It was another sleepless night—but by the time dawn broke, she was finished. The nanites were ready, as was the canister that would carry them. She had a few other specialised items she needed, so she packed them carefully in her belt. The last item, she put in with some hesitation. She didn't want to use it—didn't really want to be touching it—but to leave it behind would be utterly stupid. And she'd decided she was done with being stupid. Or at least Lois had told her to stop being stupid. She never said anything about crazy obviously. So, acting on that, she was going to go upstairs and sleep the whole day. She'd probably need the energy.

Just as she was on the point of getting into bed though—after a long and luxuriously hot shower—the phone rang. When she answered it, a miniature of Michael appeared on his palm. She frowned. "I thought I asked you _not _to call me."

"You did. But as I'm not a child and neither are you, I thought we could discuss this like adults."

"I said I needed to think. I'm not done thinking."

"Alexa, this discussion is moot anyway. Superman is back."

"That wasn't the point and you know it."

"Wasn't it?" he asked, eyeing her carefully.

"No. This was about you wanting trying to grab the spotlight when someone else might have been in serious trouble. You didn't seem to care about another's possible pain, only about your political advantage. Whether you know them personally or not it's still …"

"What?"

"Unethical."

"I disagree. We're not hurting anyone."

"How can you say that for sure –"

"He was found by the Justice League, not the media. The media's coverage meant nothing in the end."

"But it may have and you didn't seem to care."

"You're acting like this is personal."

"He did save my life a week ago!" she retorted. That wasn't true, but Michael didn't know that.

Michael's expression softened a little. "Alright, that's true. We both own him a debt for what he did for you. I can see how it could be disrespectful."

"Good."

"I'm sorry, Alexa. Will you forgive me?"

"For that, yes. But I'm still not completely okay with this side of you. When you're elected, there will be other times like this, probably, things that aren't personal to you and me. Can you promise me you won't try to take advantage of them?"

"You know I can't. That's what politics _is, _Alexa. If it's effective, it can't be purely humanitarian. I'm sorry for that, but it's not something I can change. If you're going to play the game you need to know the rules."

"Then I need to think some more. I'll call you soon," she said.

She disconnected the phone, and another wave of tiredness overwhelmed her. When she lay down, she was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

Her body gratefully seized the opportunity for rest; it was after nine at night by the time she opened her eyes again, dark outside. She walked to the window and checked the sky above Gotham. No batsignal; it was quiet. Good. After eating something—her appetite had come back with the need to sleep—Alexa went down to the cave and changed into her suit. She slipped the canister containing the nanites into her belt last, and then made sure everything else was as ready as it was ever going to be.

Then she took a deep breath and touched her com-link. "Batwoman to Superman."

"_Alexa. I was just about to contact you_," he answered cheerfully.

"Really? Did you find something?"

"_Yeah, I've got a lead. Are you still up for helping?_"

"Of course, that's why I called. Where am I meeting you?"

"The park where the machine was, by the big hot house."

"See you there."

Concerned that it might get damaged or destroyed (and knowing that Terry would be very upset if it was), Alexa chose to leave the Batmobile behind, instead flying to Metropolis herself. It was easy to see the metal and glass roof of the hot house from the air, the only antique building in the surrounding area. She could also see Kal, waving enthusiastically.

_Yeah_, she thought, _there's definitely something wrong_.

Keeping that to herself—except to run through the plan again in her mind—Alexa landed next to him. She was greeted by that same hard smile. "What have you found?" she asked.

"I think, the source of the machine," he said, leading the way inside. The heady fragrance of tropical plants met her nose. "A lot is still fuzzy, so I started at the last thing I could remember, and that led me here."

"Okay. And you found something? I combed this area pretty carefully when you disappeared."

He squeezed her hand, a little too hard. The first time he'd ever misjudged his or her strength like that. "I'm sure you did. But I looked underground with my X-ray vision. There's a cable that runs along the park's length and ends up here."

She nodded, and they headed inside together, moving silently. She had calculated that the house could only be a hundred feet long, yet she felt like they had continued on for another fifty. Acting before they went any deeper, she decided the plan had to be put into action. She pulled her companion to a halt.

"Kal, I … I'm sorry I didn't find you."

"Hey, you tried."

"I should have _done _it," she said, forcing her voice to catch, like sobs were gathering. "I failed you, Kal, but …" She put her arms around him, hands around his shoulders in an embrace.

He hugged her closely. "But?"

Alexa slipped the necklace she'd just taken out of her belt—complete with kryptonite pendant—around his neck. He crumpled immediately. "But I won't fail you again," she said coldly.

She knocked him out and left him on the floor with a bit of regret. It wasn't his fault, what had happened to him, but while he wasn't himself, he couldn't be trusted at all. She proceeded forwards alone, and therefore didn't notice the tiny, winding plant squirm out of the bushes and head towards Kal. Ahead, Alexa was pushing through thick foliage. She had already programmed the emergency beacon for the League, so it was primed. All she had to do was actually send the signal, which she probably would have to do if the huge plants were any indication. They now seemed to be actively parting for her, and after another few metres, she was through. The hot house, it transpired, had indeed stopped; it was just that the plants had hidden that fact. The roof was no longer glass, but an overgrown canopy of leaves, and she stood in a clearing ringed by trees.

She put her hands on her hips and spaced her feet solidly apart. "Come on out, Ivy! I know it's you!

From above her, there was rustling movement. Alexa pulled out two batarangs and held them ready to throw. What descended from the leafy ceiling was Poison Ivy herself, looking exactly like she did in all the stock footage. She and Alexa appraised each other once the vine that had deposited Ivy withdrew.

"Well … now I know why Superman refused to bring me Batman."

"You're a little behind the times. What have you done to him?"

"Oh, just a little toxin. A lot of toxin, actually."

"What toxin?" Alexa demanded.

"Hmm, you do have the patience of the original though."

"What do you want, Ivy?"

"What I've always wanted. To cleanse Mother Earth, to let her bloom and flourish the way she was always meant to!"

"By killing everything else. You know I can't allow that."

"Look around you, you pathetic meat-sack! The earth is burned and scarred, barren because of what _humanity_ has done to her!"

"And that's our problem."

"No," Ivy responded. "Not yet it isn't."

Feeling that was her cue, Alexa threw the batarang, backwards, through the stems of the enormous venus fly traps closing in on her. They weren't quite fly traps though, since as it did, one of them spat more of those sharp stamens at her. She deflected them, then pulled the nanites from her belt. She released them in a cloud of billions, knowing that they'd swarm over every plant containing a speck of Ivy's DNA and destroy it. In ten seconds, half the plants were writhing in their death throes, and Ivy was screaming.

"No! My children! My beautiful babies –"

She choked suddenly, the nanites invading her body. Alexa pressed a single button on her belt, and everything stopped. Ivy froze too, something like tears in her emerald green eyes. Alexa moved closer. "I press one button, and those things eat you from the inside out. And your 'babies' too."

"What do you want?" Ivy whispered.

"I would have liked for you to stay dead," Batwoman replied. "But since that's not possible—tell me what toxin you used on Superman and give me the antidote."

"I can't –"

"_Wrong _answer, Ivy."

* * *

**A/N: Just to clarify, the song refers to Ivy (and maybe Michael), not Kal or Alexa! Review please!**


	17. No Light, No Light

**A/N: I'm sorry about the delay, people! I went through all of yesterday thinking it was Monday, and only realised at 7 a.m. this morning that I hadn't posted a chapter. Please accept it now :)  
**

_No Light, no light,  
_

_In your bright blue eyes,  
_

_I never knew daylight could be so violent,  
_

_A revelation in the light of day,  
_

_You can't choose what stays and what fades away,  
_

_And I'd do anything,  
_

_To make you stay,  
_

_No light, no light,  
_

_Tell me what you want me to say  
_

_You want a revelation,  
_

_You want to get right,  
_

_But it's a conversation,  
_

_I just can't have tonight,  
_

_You want revelation,  
_

_Some kind of resolution,  
_

_Tell me what you want me to say...  
_

No Light, No Light—Florence + The Machine

**Chapter Seventeen**

"You won't kill me," Ivy said apparently really confident that it wouldn't happen.

"You've been gone a long time. Things change."

Things did indeed change, and very quickly. Though not in the way Alexa had alluded to. Mostly because _her _type of change did not involve being hit by a full-speed Kryptonian. To say it was like being hit by a truck wouldn't have been accurate. Alexa had been hit by trucks before. She'd been hit by _tanks._ And she had always been able to shrug it off fairly quickly. This wasn't like anything she'd had before. If she had to, she might have likened it to being hit by a small planet. Maybe a moon. And it hurt; actually, it wasn't being hit that hurt so much as it was being put through a forest and several buildings.

She didn't panic, even though she didn't have any more kryptonite, and drove the point of her elbow into the junction of his neck and shoulder. It was a move she'd used in their sparring before, and it worked now. His hold around her waist loosened enough so that she could slip out and into the air. Kal's momentum carried him a little bit further, but knowing his reflexes were equally quick, Alexa shot after him and slammed his head right down into the ground. It gave way, and there was soon a long, deep furrow in the concrete. While he was pulling himself up, she pressed the button on the beacon for the League. Now was a really good time for a rescue. She didn't waste time trying to reason with Kal—she doubted it would work, and she doubted it would be a quick process. Her death probably would be. Kal was up again, and coming towards her; she caught his fist, deflected it and slammed the heel of her hand into his breast bone. The impact reverberated up her arm, but did hurt Kal too. She followed it up with a punch to his face, then a kick to his midsection. It was then she realised Kal had definitely been holding out on her. Because his next set of offensive moves had a fluidity and technique that could only be attributed to a martial art. And extraordinarily, it was one she didn't know inside and out. One she didn't recognise any of the elements of. When this was all over, and assuming she survived, she'd have to get Kal to show it to her. At the moment she didn't really have time to admire the grace of it. He was driving her back towards Ivy, and while she knew that she was powerless to stop it. The nanite remote had long since disappeared, so Ivy and her plants weren't inhibited anymore. As well as Kal's fists, Alexa was also trying to avoid vines, barbs and thorns that were after her too.

Both she and Kal were bleeding now, though her more than him. With a well-placed blow she'd managed to open a cut above his eye; it was bleeding freely and partly obscuring his vision, but Alexa had the worse of it. There were bleeding scratches along her arms where the plants had punched through her suit, her nose was bleeding from where she was almost positive Kal had broken it, and finally a metal fence post had gone partway through her leg. She had pulled it out, and it wasn't near anywhere vital, but it still hurt.

They were both on the ground now, which gave Alexa a slight advantage. She could know every martial art in the world, but it was intensely difficult to use them to full effect in mid-air. On the ground, it was much easier. When Kal aimed another punch at her, she dodged, turning on the spot to slam her elbow into the middle of his face. She used full force (no point in doing otherwise), and ploughed into his nose. It didn't break, but at this point anything that slowed him down for a moment helped. She vaulted over him, but he caught her ankle while she was in the air and twisted it; she kicked him in the side of the head with her other leg then put him into a stranglehold from behind. It probably wouldn't have worked, but it didn't matter—a vine suddenly twined itself around her waist and yanked her away from Kal. By the time the plants dragged her before Ivy again, Alexa was cocooned, so tightly wrapped that even her strength couldn't break her free.

Ivy was holding the remote for the nanites, looking pleased with herself. She threw it to Kal. "Destroy it."

Half a second later, it was powder. Alexa raised an eyebrow. "You don't think I have backups?"

"Oh, I'm sure you do," Ivy replied, moving closer. "But after tonight, you won't want to use them."

She opened her palm; sitting it in was a small quantity of very fine powder. Seeing Alexa quite prepared to hold her breath for as long as necessary, Ivy made a gesture to Kal—who yanked violently on her right arm, pulling it out of its socket. The move had the desired effect, and Alexa gasped in pain. Ivy was there to make sure she inhaled the pheromones.

"Yes, Batwoman. Feel the power of the earth flowing through your veins."

She could definitely feel it—heady, dizzying, intoxicating. For just a moment, she wanted to do anything Ivy desired her to. She'd taken the pain away. She'd reunite her with Kal … But it wasn't all that dissimilar to fighting off fear toxin, and in less than a minute, lucidity had returned.

"It's going to take more than one dose," she said.

"I know. It took dozens to subdue _him_," Ivy replied. "But don't worry. I have the patience. Now all we need is somewhere nice and quiet to –"

The enormous green bubble that enveloped Kal came out of nowhere, and Ivy was dispatched with a blow from a megarod, and then it seemed like the entire League had come to the rescue.

Tom landed in front of Alexa, a worried frown on his face. "Are you alright?"

She nodded, and then wondered why she had when she so clearly wasn't. "There're … pheromones in … in my blood. You have to –"

"I'm having trouble here!" GL called from about fifteen feet in the air. Inside the bubble, Kal was making ferocious escape attempts.

"Kryptonite lamps in … Metrotower," Alexa managed, her voice still slurred. Mentally, she was fine, but physically Ivy's drug was still affecting her, helped along by her injuries. "Holding cells. Code … Alpha Two Threat."

Mira nodded, putting a hand to her com-link. "Metrotower, this is Green Lantern. Prepare the holding cells. Alpha Two Threat. Transport us there asap."

A few seconds later, both she and Kal were teleported away. Tom put Alexa's good arm around his shoulders. "Come on. We need to get you medical –"

She shook her head. "Get Ivy to Arkham."

Barda dropped the aforementioned villainess onto the ground, unconscious. "I'll take Batwoman to the infirmary, don't worry. You might need to restrain this one though."

Tom nodded, tying Ivy's hands and feet and dumping her in the waiting batmobile. Barda moved to Alexa, hugging her tightly. "I'm so sorry I didn't believe you!"

"Barda –"

"I don't know why I didn't, I should have known better than to –"

"Barda, please," Alexa broke in, her leg beginning to give way and her shoulder now burning.

"What's happened to your shoulder?! We need to get you to the infirmary!"

"Thanks," Alexa said weakly.

Barda manoeuvred them both onto an energy disc and flew them to the Metrotower, handing Alexa into the hands of the doctors. Apart from the dislocated shoulder, her nose was indeed broken, and she had a multitude of cuts and scratches that needed cleaning, then a dressing on her leg and a tetanus shot because of the fence post. Only then would they let her get up. Once they had, she made them take a sample of her own blood and give it to her, though all of them looked bewildered at the request. As soon as that happened, she was suddenly hobbling as fast as she could toward the transporter room.

"Where are you going?" Barda demanded.

"Batcave. Work to do," Alexa answered shortly.

When she reached up to take the sling off her arm, Barda stopped her. "What work? Can I help with it?"

"I need to synthesise an antidote to Poison Ivy's toxin, then we can administer it to Kal."

"Won't it wear off if given enough time?"

"It might, but some substances can lie dormant in the body for years before they reactivate. And besides, he'd have to be kept under kryptonite lamps for days, and – he'd be in pain for all that time. His injures won't heal either. It's taken us this long to get him back even halfway. I want to get the full way as soon as possible."

"Understandable. What do you need?"

Alexa glanced at her arm. Her shoulder was back in its socket, but it would take some time for the torn ligaments and tendons to reattach. "I might need help with the fiddly bits."

Barda nodded. "Then I'm your woman."

"Thank you."

"No need to thank me. I owe you for not believing you in the first place."

"You weren't the only one."

"That's no excuse, I'm your best friend and I know you're crazy about Kal—I should have known you would be the first one to spot it if something was wrong."

Alexa smiled. "Apology accepted."

"So what are the options?"

"Well, I can use the same nanite solution I did with Ivy, but they're not particularly sophisticated and changes would have to be made. Or I could make a chemical solution that would counteract the toxins."

"Which would be more effective?"

"The nanites, probably. I don't know how much he's got in his system but I'm willing to bet it's a hell of a lot. Ivy said she'd dosed him dozens of times. If I use them, the nanites will remain in his system—at least for a while—and root out all the traces of the toxin. At the moment they're programmed to seek Ivy's DNA out and destroy it. The pheromones aren't of her origin; she's distilled them from existing plants."

"Alright, so how do you know what _that _consists of?"

Alexa held up the vial of her blood. "By good fortune, Ivy gave me a dose too."

She walked over to the computer, tapping on the touchpad. A little shelf suddenly slid out next to Barda, with a petri dish on it. Alexa tried to pull the top off the vial and found she couldn't without more pain from her shoulder. Barda held out her hand for it, and Alexa gave it to her with a smile. Barda tipped the blood into the petri dish.

"Push it back in?"

"Please."

Barda pushed the shelf back in gently, and the computer accepted it smoothly. "Now what?"

"Computer, analyse sample."

"Analysing now."

"It shouldn't take too long," Alexa said. "There'll be a lot more in this sample than the last one."

"Last one?"

"Oh. That's how I knew it was Posion Ivy. Yesterday, Kal … he kissed me. I knew he would never do that, and it made me dizzy."

"A good kiss'll do that," Barda commented.

"Yeah, but this was barely any kind of kiss. Being light-headed and dizzy didn't make sense, so I ran a test just as a hunch and it came up with trace amounts of Ivy's toxin. Matched it from the archives. Prepared for a fight from there."

Only a couple minutes later, the computer flashed up the result. It was the same toxin, about fifty times more of it. "Kal's blood must be saturated," she muttered.

"Would explain the trying to kill you thing," Barda agreed. "Although, how to you know he'd never kiss you?"

"He wouldn't. There have been chances, Barda, hundreds of them. And he just doesn't take any of them. Whether he's not ready, or … I don't know what it is. But he wouldn't kiss me." Truthfully, she thought she knew what was stopping him: guilt. Or the semblance, or the echo of it. Guilt, and enduring love. A terrible combination.

Barda's eyes were sparkling. "Well, let's get him back to himself and see, shall we?"

Alexa nodded firmly. "Let's."

After that, the program that the nanites would carry was written by Alexa, and then the two women carefully made the prototype together for the computer to replicate. When it was doing that, Alexa pulled her sling off, gingerly flexing her shoulder. It ached a bit, but felt a lot better than it had an hour ago.

"How do I look?" she asked Barda, pulling back her mask. "Do I look like I've had the crap beaten out of me?"

Barda attempted to adopt a cheerful expression and tone. "Well, you're a pretty range of colours. You like purple and yellow, right?"

Alexa's shoulders slumped. "I had the feeling you were going to say that."

"Why?"

"Because I think Kal will probably remember everything, and I'd really like to be able to convince him I've completely shrugged it off. Which with bruises and a limp is going to be pretty difficult."

"At least your mask will cover the bruises. Of course, he can see through it, but still. He might not look."

"He'll look," Alexa sighed heavily, as the computer signalled the nanites were ready. Alexa put them into a plasma solution that would be put directly into Kal's bloodstream. "Come on. Let's go save him."

Barda ordered the teleport while Alexa pulled her mask back down over her face. When they got to the holding cell, Kal was slumped over, handcuffed, bathed in the sickly green glow of the kryptonite lamps. The bruises were obvious on his own face, and while the cut above his eye had stopped bleeding, no one had cleaned it up.

Alexa felt a wild burst of rage. "Why in Athena's name has no one helped him?" she demanded.

"Well, we didn't want to – He's not in his right mind, someone might have gotten hurt –"

"Get me a first aid kit," she ordered coldly. "Now."

Thomas arrived just as the technician scurried off to get her one. "Ivy's in Arkham. Commissioner was a little surprised to find her still alive."

"Why?" Alexa asked. "It makes sense."

"Does it?" Barda asked.

"Yeah," Tom said. "Because of the nature of her powers, her body is essentially a husk. She could grow a new one each time the old one wore out, and simply transfer her consciousness."

Alexa nodded. "That was my hypothesis."

Barda blinked. "It was?"

"Remember that rose plan we found in the old Asylum? Big enough to sit in?"

"You think someone cut Poison Ivy out of that?"

"It's the most logical explanation."

"But why would they do that?"

Batwoman shrugged. "A religious cult, misguided eco-warriors, anything. They're probably all dead by now, or slaves to Ivy's pheromones."

The first aid kit arrived, and she snatched it off the civilian member of staff and went inside the cell to release Kal from those very pheromones. He didn't seem to notice her at first, until she started to roll his sleeve up. Then he lifted his head up. "Alexa … Alexa please … turn them off. Please."

She swallowed hard against the lump in her throat. "I will, Kal," she promised. "As soon as I can."

She pushed the needle into his skin and injected the nanites, then pulled the syringe away. Then she opened the first aid kid and started cleaning the dried blood from his face and cleaning the cut as tenderly as she could. When she was finished, she touched his face gently. He flinched like she'd hurt him. "I know it hurts," she whispered. "But it'll get rid of Ivy."

She stayed in the holding cell for the next three hours while the toxin was forced from him. When sweat poured from him, Alexa wiped it away; when he was thirsty, she held water to his lips. Her hands kept twitching towards the switch for the kryptonite lamps, the desire to turn them off driven by the ragged gasps. Each time though, she pulled her hands back again. It was nearly over. Surely, it had to be nearly over. Just as it had been the first time, the council members began to arrive, in combinations of worried and relieved.

An hour later, dawn had broken, and Kal finally opened his eyes. They were confused, a little afraid, but completely clear. Alexa switched the lamps off immediately, snapped his handcuffs off. Still weak—and there were no windows to let sunlight in—he slumped forwards into her arms.

_Thank Hera_. "Are you alright?"

"Just," he answered weakly. "But you –"

"Later. We need to get you to sunlight."

"Arboretum," Barda said. "Up three floors."

There were almost too many people there to help, but they managed to manoeuvre him up to the arboretum. As soon as the elevator doors opened, warm, golden sunshine flooded them. It felt like Kal was already standing a little straighter. Alexa let go of him and let the others help him forward, hanging back. She wasn't going to leave—how could she?—but she didn't trust herself with everyone else around. At all. She found a fairly shaded part, underneath a tree, and waited. The only person who really noticed her was Barda.

Barda, in the traditional manner of all best friends, started slowly shepherding everyone else out. "Come on, guys, there'll be time for catching up later. He'll heal faster if we leave him alone."

Only Tom noticed Alexa standing still. "But –"

"Batman, can I get your help on something?" Barda asked, taking his arm. "It's really important."

Tom didn't have the opportunity to object further, and the doors closed after him, leaving Kal and Alexa alone. He was faced mostly away from her, though she could see his profile. The sunlight lit him in a brilliant glow, and every injury and bruise on his face slowly healed right before her eyes. His posture grew straighter, stronger. Alexa watched him with a deep feeling of contentment. He was safe. He was healing. He was him. It honestly was like having a mini dream come true, just watching it. Finding she was too far away, she moved to his side.

"Better?" she asked quietly.

"Much. Alexa … I can't begin to –"

"There's no need."

"You don't know if I was going to thank you or apologise," he said.

"You were going to do both. And neither are necessary. I'm just – I'm glad you're back. Though that's a completely inadequate sentence if I've ever heard one."

"How did you know?" he asked.

"Because I wasn't done being scared. You were right in front of me, but I was still … afraid."

"Of me?" he asked, distress on his face.

"_For _you. I was still sure I'd lost you, and that idea …"

When she didn't finish, and she didn't look at him, Kal reached out to lift her face back up to his. "What?"

Screwing her courage to the sticking post, Alexa said, "It terrifies me. And it was made worse knowing that it should have been me, that it was my fault you were in so much danger –"

Kal leaned down and captured her mouth with his. Shock flooded her, but even that couldn't prevent her from kissing back. If her heart had been pounding before, it was nothing compared to now. It seemed to be hammering right out of her chest. She stopped breathing, stopped thinking. There was nothing except him, and this moment. Her hands moved down from his shoulders to rest on his chest as she pressed herself closer. She couldn't think of anything she wanted more than to carry on, to lose herself totally in him, body and soul. But when she tried to deepen the kiss, he stiffened suddenly and pulled away.

He didn't run, exactly; he didn't even leave the room. But he crossed to the window and stood with his back to her. "Kal?"

"I'm sorry, Alexa, I- I didn't…mean to do that."

"I did."

He shook his head slowly from side to side.

"One of us was going to sooner or later," she pointed out. "What's so wrong with sooner?"

There was a long pause. "I do…"

_Like me? Love me? _

"…want you," he finished. Alexa waited with bated breath for more. "You're an incredible woman, Alexa. Having you as a team-mate is great – as a friend even more so."

Her heart sank slowly into her boots. There was something bad coming, she just knew there was. "But?"

He turned to face her, moved closer and touched her face with soft fingertips and a sad smile. "But I can't…look at you without wanting to be with you. And I can't want that without thinking of-"

"Lois," she whispered.

"Thinking of you is like betraying her – _being _with you would be worse."

Alexa thought hard before she spoke, searching for the right words. "Well, I… I understand that."

"Do you?" he asked, frustration peaking in his voice. "Because I don't. I don't understand it at _all_." He squeezed his eyes shut, and when he opened them again, Alexa saw tears shining in them. "She's dead, Alexa. She's dead, and I-"

Without another word, he moved abruptly away from her, and then out of the room altogether. For a while, Alexa just stood in silence. Then she cursed herself for not seeing it before, for _walking _into it like that. Of course he'd feel like he was betraying Lois' memory. He was _moving on_, and that wasn't allowed. Widowers weren't supposed to have love again, or be happy. But then no other widower had to spend _eternity_ grieving. Why should Kal?

* * *

**A/N: Review please! **


	18. Wonderwall

**AN: Thank you for the reviews! And I hope you enjoy this chapter. It combines my own writing with the epilogue of _Infinite Legacy_, so that's why the style changes and why it might feel a bit contrived, I had to fit my plot around Kipling's :) Enjoy!  
**

_And all the roads we have to walk are winding,  
_

_And all the lights that lead us there are blinding,  
_

_There are many things that I,  
_

_Would like to say to you but I don't know how,  
_

_'Cause maybe,  
_

_You're gonna be the one that saves me,  
_

_And after all,  
_

_You're my wonderwall.  
_

Wonderwall—Oasis

**Chapter Eighteen**

Alexa did not remain standing still by herself for long, and nor did she bother crying. She had every reason to, looking at the situation, but something in her refused to despair. The hope that had been fragile before their kiss had grown stronger, tough, and was still increasing in potency every time her heart beat, every time she drew breath. Where it was coming from, this conviction, she wasn't sure. Aphrodite? She uttered a mental prayer to the goddess, thanking her for this hope, and asking her—not to influence Kal, but to let him see her. To let him consider the possibility of a _them_. Because she was certain, if he did, that it would be too impossible, too wonderful, to ignore. To let remain unexplored.

She decided to go home, full of this strengthened and fortified hope, and sleep. Eat. Act like an actual human being as opposed to the Batwoman-machine that she had been for the last ten days. When she got back to the cave, her com-link went off.

"_Barda to Batwoman_. _Any news? Any … joys you'd like to share with me?_"

"Jury's out. I'll get back to you."

"_Make sure you do._"

* * *

It was a sunny day in Metropolis—birds singing, cloudless blue sky, a perfect afternoon. But it was completely lost on Kal. He was sat in in a café, in a building that had once been home to a newspaper, and was now a complex of apartments and stores, restaurants and cinemas. No one was really looking at him, despite the fact he was hardly in disguise. It made him wonder why he'd bothered with the glasses for decades. All he'd done now was to put clothes on other than the Superman gear. Clothes Alexa had bought him. Rao, he couldn't get away from thinking about her. Not that he was trying to, for once. For once, he was actually trying to think about her. About what he was going to do, about her.

This was where he did his thinking, generally. Since moving back to Metropolis he'd come here a lot, to remember happier times. The room he was sat in now had been the newsroom. The coffee bar had actually been his office. It would be nice to say that if he closed his eyes, it was easy to imagine it as it had once been. But even though the chatter of customers was loud, and there was someone typing on a computer to his left, the character of the noise wasn't right. It wasn't urgent enough. Wasn't shouty enough. Was completely missing Perry White, for a start … But he had come here in the past to think about Lois. Since moving back to Metropolis, he hadn't been able to avoid it anyway; the memory of her had been everywhere, in every tree and brick. This street was where they'd picked out wedding china, that restaurant was where they'd had their first date, on and on, over and over again. At least at first. He hadn't forgotten any of those things, and even now there were a hundred thousand recollections rushing at him, urging to be acknowledged. But they weren't all painful. Time was, even the happy memories had been agony to look at and examine. He wasn't sure now. He didn't miss her any less than he ever had, but she was starting to … belong to the past. And thinking about that, Kal was torn between panic and- hope.

It was the natural process. It had taken him fifty years to get to this stage. It had taken a woman like Alexa to come along and show him that, yes, Lois was dead, but his heart didn't have to be. He still felt guilty; it would be useless and wrong to pretend otherwise. But he was tired of feeling guilty. And in that case, really … why not?

He took a sip from his cup, then grimaced. The taste in his mouth was bitter, but it wasn't coming from the coffee. Alexa deserved better than 'why not'. She had been completely clear and honest about what she wanted, and up till now Kal doubted he had even been honest with himself. He squeezed his eyes shut, warding off the headache. But it was a headache he had to confront.

Did he want her? Yes.

Did he believe refusing would cause both of them horrible pain? Yes.

Did he, could he, see a future with Alexa? Yes.

He refused to compare that potential future with the life he had already had. It would not be the same, nowhere near it. The only common element would be happiness for both parties involved. Which led to the last question. Both he and Alexa were immortal. This wasn't going to be something either of them could simply walk away from. And she was the first one, the first woman since Lois … she was too important to be a rebound, and he believed he would always be grateful for her healing him. But that didn't mean he would fall deeply in love with her. It didn't mean he would _stay _in love with her.

Was he going to want to?

And _that_, right there, was the question that was completely impossible to answer. Or not impossible. It just required him to try. These doubts were utterly stupid, of course, since he didn't have them at all when _with _Alexa.

"Excuse me, sir?" He opened his eyes to see a young waitress smiling at him. She gestured to his coffee cup. "Are you finished?"

He handed it to her. "Yeah. I think I am."

* * *

Alexa had dreamt all that night about her hope disappearing—whether it was struggling to hold onto a pure white dove, forced to watch Kal turn away from her a hundred times or being stuck in an eternity full of despair, each time it was losing that precious hope she'd retained when Kal had left her.

When she woke, the next morning, she felt her hope still fluttering around inside her chest though, still beating its wings against her ribs. She still had her hope, and she lay there soaked in relief for a moment or two before she got up to take a shower. It was sunny outside, though promising rain later if the clouds were anything to go by. She smiled at it all anyway. He hadn't given her an answer, yesterday, and while that could be discouraging, it could also be encouraging. She knew Kal well enough to know he'd feel honour-bound to make a decision soon, one way or the other. And her hope told her it would be the right one.

There was, though, something else she had to think about, apart from Kal, though it was bound up in him. She was still engaged. She didn't love Michael, and she didn't want to marry him – but if Kal decided that he couldn't be with her… A voice in the back of her mind asked if it would really be so bad. If the amount of good she could do might be it worth it. But from now on she knew that she wouldn't be able to look at him in the same way. She'd known he was a politician, but with her he had always been a man first. When he suggested they marry immediately…he had been suggesting that they capitalize on someone else's death, in order to win votes. She still thought he was a good man – if that person hadn't been Kal…

But it had been Kal. And even if he didn't know it, Michael had taken her grief and fear and trampled on them. She didn't believe that, even if he said no now, Kal would continue for the rest of eternity denying what there was between them. And she didn't believe that she would continue to be faithful to Michael if one day he decided he did want her.

She went to the holophone and dialled Michael's number. It had only been a couple of days since they'd last spoken, but she barely recognised the man who answer the phone.

"Alexa, finally! I was beginning to think you'd forgotten me!"

"Beginning to," she said, only half joking.

"You're looking better," he commented.

"I feel better," she responded. "Michael, are you free at any point this afternoon? There's something I need to talk to you about."

"I'm pretty busy -"

"It's important."

He frowned. "Alright, I have some time over lunch. Can you get to New York for two?"

"Yes." He could make time for her over lunch? Goddesses, what this what her marriage would have been like, her _life_? How had she _ever _thought it would be the right thing to do? How could she have – "I'm sure I can get to New York."

"Alright. I'm in the Plaza."

"Okay. See you then."

She clicked the phone off before he had a chance to respond, then almost tore the engagement ring from her finger. When she flew to New York half an hour later, she still hadn't put it back on. And when she was shown into Michael's suite, and they were given a moment alone, she did not beat about the bush.

"Michael, I can't marry you."

He picked up the ring from her palm, twirled it in the light for a moment and then looked at her. "I expected you were going to say that. May I ask why?"

"Because I don't love you."

"But I don't love you, you know that. I thought we understood one another."

"We did – but something's changed."

He looked at her carefully, his eyes glittering in something like amusement. "I suppose you do have…_other _commitments."

"I do," she admitted, somehow unsurprised that he'd worked out something of her secret, if not all of it. "I think I've found someone I do love, and I can't lose that chance. Before now, love wasn't something I needed. Now I find it is."

"Well, I can't deny I'm disappointed. People can always do more when they're not in love, you know."

She smiled. "I don't know about that."

He stood, and offered her his hand. "I hope we at least part as friends."

She took it. "We do. And don't worry, I will still be voting for you, Mr. President."

"Glad to hear it. Thank you, Alexa, for your honesty as well as much else."

She kissed his cheek, and left, feeling lighter. She glanced up at the cloudless blue sky, unable to help the direction of her thoughts. _Well, Kal. Now I'm just waiting on you._

She didn't have to wait in anxious inactivity though; there was a party in two days' time at the manor, organised by Thomas to celebrate…well, with Tommy there didn't really need to be a specific celebration. Maybe just his libido felt like it was being neglected. Alexa made a mental note to tell him what happened to the male antechinus mouse after it had literally fucked itself to death. Maybe when she was in a more pessimistic mood. Quite possibly at that very same party, where he was surrounded by nubile women and when she was surrounded by gold-digging men. Unless Kal suddenly turned up. Just walked in and kissed the sense out of her in front of everyone, and she could spend the rest of the night in his arms—whether on the dancefloor or upstairs in her bed…

The loud, sharp sound of a carhorn caught her attention; it seemed she'd been about to step into the road. Damn. Actually daydreaming now. And Harlequin daydreaming too… That needed to stop. Even if Kal actually did that. Not that she wanted him to. Much.

She stopped those thoughts there, though her hope protested at being squashed. Dwelling on it would probably lead to her contacting Kal, and she needed to give him space, time, room to breathe and sort out his own feelings. If they were anything like how complicated hers had been then it would take a few days at least. There had to be something she could do. Something worth her attention had to be happening in the world. Something in Gotham, specifically. All other locations had to be ruled out—Themyscira, because Hippolyta was still so proud of her 'queenly decision'. Isla Wayne, because her parents would know from one glance that she was trying to escape from something, and the Metro Tower, because it was firmly in Kal's backyard, and going there would defeat the point of giving him space.

She returned to Gotham and went down to the Batcave, cursing for once that all her city was calm and all its people were safe. Although, while she was here … even if she didn't to physically be with her parents, they needed to know she was no longer engaged. But Diana would have so many questions …

"Computer, call Dad."

There was the sound of a ring tone, which seemed to go on forever before Bruce picked up. She wondered if she was waking him, but night hadn't completely fallen in Greece. Finally though, her father answered. "_Hey, honey_."

"Hi, Daddy," she smiled. "Am I disturbing you?"

"_Not at all. The, uh, goats are kidding._"

"Kidding?"

"_Yeah. It's like lambing but you end up with kids instead of lambs._"

"You bought _pregnant _goats?"

"_Apparently my Greek isn't as good as I thought_."

She grinned briefly. "I see."

"What did you want to talk to me about? Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine. Although Poison Ivy isn't dead."

"_She's not?_"

"No."

"_Transfer of her consciousness into a new husk body?_" Bruce asked.

"Yep. She's in Arkham now, but she caused a little havoc while she was out. Matt has placed her under maximum security."

"_Make sure her cell is weeded regularly_," Bruce recommended.

"Will do. Um, there was something else though. I have – some news. I broke it off with Michael. We're not getting married anymore." There was a pause, and the expression on holographic Bruce's face was inscrutable. "Dad?"

"_What do you want me to say?_"

"I don't know. I was expecting …"

"_Relief?_"

"Yeah."

"_Well, I think it's good you've come to your senses,_" he said bluntly.

"Gee, thanks."

"_It's the truth, Alexa. The marriage was a bad idea and you must know that._"

"I do."

"_Then what else were you anticipating?_" His voice softened a little as he continued, "_It was never going to make you happy._"

"I know."

"_But your pride won't let you admit that to your mother, right?_"

"Kinda," Alexa replied sheepishly.

He shook his head. "You two are so much alike it staggers me."

"Will you tell her for me?"

"_Yes, I'll tell her. But _you_ can tell Hippolyta_."

Alexa smiled. "Deal. I'll have to –"

"Alert," the computer suddenly boomed. "Serious violent offence detected."

"Dad, I've gotta go."

She closed the call and accessed the computer. Wayne Enterprise satellites had picked up the incident, and relayed it to the Cave. Right now it was showing massive explosions in three different areas of the city: a bank, a hospital and a school. She'd need the full clan to deal with this. She issued urgent summons to Thomas and Terry, then changed into her suit and took off out of the Cave at top speed. Her priorities torn, she finally choose to go to the hospital first. She had checked with the school's database and found that Hera had been watching over Gotham—it was a staff training day, not one child in the building. There would be some teachers dead, and that of course was a tragedy, but Alexa's next priority had to be the hospital. And Apollo had not been watching over the sick. An entire wing of the hospital had been destroyed, six wards blown up and dozes of people killed, over a hundred injured. Batwoman's first task was search and rescue; removing the largest chunks of rubble to search for people. She found another twenty seven alive, and delivered them to safety. The hospital's ER had survived, but soon they couldn't cope and ambulances had to ferry them to other Gotham hospitals.

After Alexa had saved her twenty-fourth life of the day, her com-link went off. It was Thomas. "_Sixteen dead at the school, thirty-eight at the bank. I'm going through the forensics now. There's not much that's distinctive; homemade chemical explosives, timed fuse. The simultaneous explosions might be significant._"

"Keep digging. Let me know if you find anything."

A moment later, Terry's voice sounded in her ear. "_Got the perp at the bank, I think. He's dead, but he's got a picture of the Joker tattooed all over his back._"

"You sure?"

"_I'm sure_," he said, and she could almost hear the shudder, "_I'd never forget that face_."

"Thanks. Go back to the Cave, see if you can make a start on tracking them down."

"_Them?"_

Of course it was a 'them'—with the simultaneous, 'off-limits' targets, all chosen to deliver the maximum amount of chaos? That could only be one criminal group. Albeit one on the edge of extinction. "It was the Jesters," she said.

That was confirmed by the large quantities of playing cards Tom had found at the school. The bombs there had been packed with them, along with nails, broken glass and all manner of horrible, pointy things. They had been placed into trash cans that were dotted around the playground. If there had been children there, then they would have been ripped to shreds by the explosions. Thank Hera that had not been the case. The Joker, though fortunately long-dead, had continued to inspire copy-cats. The Jokerz in Terry's day, who had then become the Jesters. Who Alexa had hunted down with such zeal that she had believed the pests to be exterminated. Apparently not as thoroughly as she had hoped, though.

After four hours, helping the injured and gathering the evidence, the three of them reconvened in the Batcave.

"Why?" was the first question on Tom's lips.

"Chaos," Terry said.

Alexa nodded, "Sick people and children being targeted—it's against the established rules of crime. A mafia boss would never harm a child. If there were any mafia bosses left."

"Okay—so how do we track and take down a group who thrive on unpredictability?"

"Because they're not unpredictable."

Terry went to the computer. "All we need do is look for other 'off-limit' target locations. Circuses, libraries, cemeteries …"

"Cemeteries?" Tom asked. "What would be the point in- Right, chaos, I get it," he said at the looks his brother and sister sent him.

"Pinpointing potential targets will only get us so far though," Alexa said, "unless we know where their base is. That _wouldn't _be random. These cretins are just following in the Joker's footsteps, looking up to him like he's some kind of god. It would be some place they consider sacred."

"On it." Thomas pulled up a chair next to Terry's and started compiling a list of the Joker's known hiding spots. There were about two dozen results, and they eliminated them slowly, until they got about two-thirds the way down.

"There," Alexa said, pointing to one line. "Old Russian Circus. That's where they'll be."

"How do you know?"

"It's out of the way of the public, but easily accessible, and there's no monitoring by CCTV. And where else would you find clowns?"

They loaded the batmobile with radioactive tracer fluid, which they would be able to track if needs be. No longer needed in the field, Terry stayed behind to monitor the situation from the Cave. On his wife's orders. The twins got into the batmobile and flew to the old Russian Circus.

"You were right," Tom said. "Thermal imaging shows over forty of them in there."

Alexa nodded, engaging stealth mode. The huge craft became absolutely silent. "Ready?"

"Ready."

The batmobile burst through the ceiling in a shower of plaster and broken glass, without warming. Immediately, the Jesters were simultaneously lit with white light that burned their eyes and sprayed with the tracer fluid. Then both twins leapt out of their vehicle and started knocking out Jesters at a rate of three point four every ten seconds. Inevitably, some got away. But they would not get far.

When all the present Jesters were unconscious, and restrained, Alexa contacted Terry. "Send our position to the GCPD, and we'll call it a night."

"What about the others?" Tom asked.

"They're not threat for now. I'll track them down and take them out one at a time."

* * *

Batwoman took a single step forward out of the shadow that had been obscuring her. Her seamless, black suit was simple in appearance but coupled with her abilities, she was nothing but terrifying.

The young punk that had been squinting into the darkness immediately pointed a gun at her, but his hand and weapon shook violently. Due to fear obviously, though she wondered if he had some debilitating illness affecting his motor-skills.

"I wouldn't bother wasting a bullet."

He wasn't a good listener. A shot fired off, with surprisingly good accuracy for a young Jester, but 'surprisingly good' wasn't going to cut it. A soft ping sent the bullet off into its new home somewhere in the expanse of the empty warehouse.

Just as fast as the bullet had left its barrel, she was at his side and issuing him catatonic with a forefinger. The Jester slumped to the ground, his oddly distorted clown face looking out of character in the dark, abandoned building.

Her earpiece crackled, "Alexa?"

"He's down. The last of the Jesters. Or at least the one that will lead us to any stragglers." She stared down at the body. "What is it with clown wannabes in this city?"

Thomas laughed in her ear. "Party's still going on. In case you were wondering."

"Knocking out a crime syndicate in a three day weekend is a little more fulfilling. No offense." Alexa took hold of the kid and flew out of the building. In minutes he was distributed to police hands who happened to be awaiting his arrival.

"So you coming back? Or should I get everyone to leave? Before I came down to the cave, Charisma Worthington was giving me the _eye_."

Alexa was scanning Gotham's under belly with hawk-like precision. "Ugh, I could rub two turnips together and it would have a higher IQ."

Her brother laughed again. "But it wouldn't be as hot."

"I'm fine staying out here, thanks."

"Well, I'll keep Cray on stand-by. I'll update your logs later." With that, he signed-off, leaving her alone.

She flew to her favourite perch atop an ancient gargoyle, and silently addressed her city. All was well, as it should be. The crime-rate was at its lowest in nearly two hundred years; Arkham's populace was accounted for and had its smallest clientele…ever.

Batwoman's involvement with the League was just as impressive.

Which reminded her…

A soft landing of two boots on the rooftop behind her resonated like an orchestra.

Alexa didn't move. "I wasn't sure when you'd get here."

"Sneaking up on you is getting nearly impossible. Reminds me of someone."

She stifled a laugh and swivelled round to face her visitor. "Are you here to reprimand me for missing the League meeting?"

The slightly greying areas around his temples were heightened in the moonlight. It was one of the many things about him she found sexy. But she wouldn't tell him that, yet. It oftentimes made him uncomfortable.

"Well, no…"

Alexa flew over, closer to him. She coyly eyed him, her mouth curving upward. "Then why are you here?"

"I-…" He was here because he wanted to see her. She wished he would just say it. Out loud. But her age, her parents…too many factors scared him.

More than anything, Alexa desired just to be closed to him. To freely trace the 'S' on his chest, to put her mouth on his…

"Kal," she took a step closer, "I'm almost twenty four, you know." As if it made a sizeable difference.

He grinned his impeccable Boy Scout grin and shook his head. "Alexa, please…"

"And really what does it matter? We're ageless."

She knew this was hard for him. The last time they had been alone like this, he shared his feelings for her. But he also shared that he felt like he was betraying Lois' memory. It ended with Kal leaving mid-sentence and Alexa cursing herself for falling or such a quandary.

A drop-dead gorgeous socialite heiress with unmatched wit and social grace, she could literally have any man she wanted. But she wanted the hundred and fifty year old Kryptonian like she wanted air in her lungs.

Still, they both knew Lois would only want him to be happy. If she could see him now, she would slap sense into him. Moping around the Metrotower like some damned ghost of yore wasn't going to cut it for the Man of Steel, or at least it shouldn't. Being in such solitude could have a negative effect – especially on those doomed to walk the Earth forever. Lois wouldn't want him to be alone. No one would. And Kal had been alone for far too long.

It was almost as if he was frozen in place, unsure of what to do. At war with himself, no doubt.

Alexa was nearly as fast as him, but when he was caught off guard, she was faster. Before Kal blinked, Alexa's arms were looped around his neck and her lips were delicately tracing a line across his jaw. She was hovering to compensate for their drastic height difference.

His reaction was immediate, and his mouth quickly found hers, and they melded into each other. The bat embossed on her chest was as close to the S on his as humanly possible.

To her dismay, he eventually pulled away.

"Bruce may try to kill me." He wasn't entirely joking. "Sorry, did I say may? I mean will."

"I'll talk to him first," she answered in between light kisses.

"Are you coming to the next League meeting?"

"Mmmhmm…"

He sighed. "I need to return to Metropolis."

"Stay with me tonight."

He shook his head and her heart sank. "Why don't you come to the Metrotower after patrol?"

Alexa lit up. "Or you could come to the manor."

"Well, I guess we'll have eternity to figure that out." With that, he left her with a lingering kiss.

After he was out of sight, Alexa jumped off the building giggling like a schoolgirl. She zoomed around buildings and cars and trees feeling light as a feather. She sobered only momentarily. Superman was now involved with Batman's daughter.

Life just got a little more interesting.

* * *

**A/N: Well, there we are, we're now at the point where _Infinite Legacy _ended! But our story doesn't end there. Not quite yet. After all, we still have to break it to Diana and Bruce... Review please! **


	19. Set Fire to the Third Bar

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews! And thank you to DaisyJane for the beta :D**

_I find a map and draw a straight line,_

_Over rivers, farms and state lines,  
_

_The distance from A to where you'd be,  
_

_It's only_ _finger-lengths that I see,_**  
**

_I touch the place where I'd find your face,  
_

_My fingers in creases of distant dark place,  
_

_I hang my coat up in the first bar,  
_

_There is no peace that I've found so far,  
_

_The laughter penetrates my silence,  
_

_As drunken men find flaws in science._

Set Fire to the Third Bar—Snow Patrol

**Chapter Nineteen**

Kal's entire body was humming with energy and anticipation—it was like he'd hovered right next to the sun for an entire week, like everything and anything could be achieved. Of course, there was only one thing he wanted to achieve tonight, and that was having Alexa back in his arms, her mouth back against his and the two of them giving into the urges both of them (though he knew it had been mostly him) had been fighting for months. Part of him was still a little unsure that it was a good idea, rushing in when they'd only really decided to be together just a few hours ago. But they had known each other much longer than that, and his self-restraint had already been pushed to extremes for long enough.

Desire shot through him painfully when Alexa's voice reached his ear. "_Batwoman to Superman._"

"Are you done?"

"_Yes. Where are you?_'

"My quarters."

He heard the grin on her face. "_I'm on my way._"

Now that he knew that, it was impossible to wait for her—he strained his ears, though there was no need to, for the sound of her voice. When he heard it, it forced him into action and he left his quarters and got into the turbolift. Alexa was waiting for the one he happened to be in. A broad and delighted smile spread over her face. She stepped in beside him, her gloved hands brushing against his.

They were both holding their breath as the doors slid shut excruciatingly slowly, then one or both of them moved and they were kissing madly, like two hormonal teenagers. He couldn't get her close enough—all hesitation vanished, vaporised by the heat of Alexa's kiss, and he cupped her head, deepening the embrace. When they broke apart, both of them were breathing hard.

There was a brilliant smile on Alexa's face though. "Now that's what I call a greeting."

"I wasn't expecting you so soon."

A light blush spread over her cheeks. "I wanted to see you."

He smiled. "I wanted to see you too."

She blushed a bit more, but was obviously pleased to hear it. The doors to the turbolift opened, revealing an empty corridor. Kal wanted to take her hand, but mindful of the cameras, he didn't, unsure how she'd feel about it. A moment later, they were in his quarters, just the two of them, and a bed feet away. Alexa took her mask off immediately. Her eyes were positively glowing.

Kal reached for her, smoothing hair from her face and stroking her cheeks softly. "There you are."

He kissed her again, more softly. Any hesitation or doubt had vanished the moment she arrived, and Alexa was showing no signs of uncertainty. She moved closer, her kiss sure and sweet. Electricity wasn't slow to build again, only this time it was without its bitter edge of frustration. They could have this, this was going somewhere—somewhere he was sure would be glorious and blissful. Everything that came after that was perfectly natural. Passion increasing, mouths and hands wandering, clothes being shed. He just had time to observe that Alexa's beauty extended to the rest of her body, when Batwoman's com-link went off.

"_Batwoman, this is the Communications Centre, please respond._"

Alexa let out a groan. "What?!"

"_We have an urgent mission for you._"

As Kal had seen absolutely no reason to stop doing what he was doing, Alexa sounded convincingly tense when she answered. "Busy."

"_It's very urgent._"

"_Very _busy," she managed, though this was followed by a low moan and her arching her back, pressing their torsos together.

"_There's a civil war and potentially billions of lives at stake._"

Well, there went that plan. Alexa put her hands on his chest, and he let his rest on her hips, though loosely, and he kept them still. "You need to go," he murmured, placing one kiss just below her ear.

"Depends how many billions," she muttered back.

"_Batwoman_?"

"I'm on my way," she sighed.

"_Thank you. And if you happen to run into Superman, we need him for this mission too. He's not answering his com-link, for some reason_."

Kal glanced over her shoulder. His was lying on the desk, abandoned. Alexa looked a little brighter that he'd be coming with her though, and even smirked. "I'm sure I can track him down."

"_Thank you. Briefing room when you're ready._"

She disconnected the channel and then sighed. "Not exactly what I had in mind for our first date."

"What did you have in mind?"

She kissed him deeply, if quickly. The blood that had been making its way slowly back north immediately went south again. "That. Only more naked."

"Sounds pretty similar to what I was thinking," he admitted, also dressing.

A few moments later, the two of them entered the briefing room looking as casual as they could manage. Kal thought Alexa was doing a better job than he was at the moment. She squeezed his hand very quickly just before they went in, then snapped into business mode with almost startling alacrity.

GL was in there, as well as the communications director of the League. "Are you coming as well?"

"No, but this is a Lantern mission that we're sequestering League personnel for," Mira said. She pulled up a 3D map of a planet, and then dreadnoughts around it. "This is the planet of Pinea. It's engaged in civil war, has been for the past fifteen years. The war has become steadily more destructive, and it's been locked in stalemate for at least the last five."

"I know Pinea," Kal said, surprised. "I've been there. A long time ago, but it was peaceful then."

"We know," GL said. "And your experience with the people and their culture is the primary reason you've been requested for this mission. For whatever reason, the Pineans won't cooperate fully with the Lantern Corps."

"I imagine it's because of what you are. They don't like outside interference—and you're the galactic police force. If it remains an internal conflict-"

"It won't for much longer," GL interrupted. "There have been technological advances on both sides, and one of them is a weapon. A massive, highly sophisticated bio-bomb, designed to wipe out anyone it comes across. It could destroy billions, not to mention potentially turn on its creators."

"And if it ends up in the wrong hands …" Alexa nodded. "Then it'll suddenly be the GLs' problem."

"Exactly."

"So what do you want us to do?"

"Well, we received a request for help from one side of the war's leaders. The faction is called Shae. Shae want Superman's assistance in diplomatic negotiations."

Kal nodded. It wasn't a role he was entirely new to, but it wasn't one he normally performed either. He knew the Pineans, or he had, and he was an outsider they trusted.

"Why am I needed?" Alexa asked. "You mentioned two technologies."

"The other belongs to Shae, and as destructive as the bio-bomb is, this one has the potential to be creative—to end the war maybe," GL said.

"What is it?"

"Shae will give you all the information you need when you arrive on Pinea," the director said.

"Do we have any background information on the conflict?" Kal asked.

The director held out two tablets, one to each of them. "This is compiled from Shae's records and the Lantern Corps'. Batwoman, you also have all the specs for the bio-bomb. You'll have time to read through both on the flight."

"Flight?" Kal asked. "It's two hundred light years away. A boom tube would be faster."

"Yes, but the war has permanently damaged Pinea's atmosphere," Mira said. "A boom tube would be impossible."

"Shae have sent coordinates for a safe landing area when you arrive," the director said. "And that's all I have for you. Good luck." He nodded to both of them, and then left.

Mira addressed Alexa again. "Ostensibly, you're also assisting in diplomatic peace negotiations. You've been chosen for your expertise in both your lives for that reason. Given the brilliant PR job you do with your brother, I'm sure you won't have too much trouble."

"And unofficially I'm there to sabotage the bio-bomb?"

"If Kal's negotiations fail to broker a truce, yes. We can't risk a weapon like that ever being detonated. Destroy it and all the information on how to build it you can find. The technology Shae has, they've been vague about, but apparently they're having difficulty making it work."

"So I'm making one weapon work, and destroying another one?" Alexa frowned.

"I don't think that Shae have a weapon; only the Rengar—the other side—do. Any questions?"

"None."

"Then Javelin 11 has been cleared for your use, and good luck."

They went up to the hangar bay, and boarded the javelin. Alexa took the helm—once in empty space the hyperdrive would automatically guide them to Pinea, but the javelin needed to be manually guided out of Earth's atmosphere. Kal took the co-pilot's seat, mapping their course.

"Coordinates input."

"How far is it?" Alexa asked.

"Two hundred and three light years—just outside Lantern Space."

"Outside it? Then why are they so worried about it?" she muttered, pulling up her own date on the bio-bomb.

It quickly became apparent why the Lanterns were concerned. Although not a virus in the biological sense, the bio-bomb would not be stopped by any form of green light. If it spread off the Pinea, then the Lanterns would be powerless to stop it.

"Looks like we're both going to be busy …" Kal said, looking at his own data pad. "The origins of this conflict looks really complex."

Alexa gave him a rueful smile. "At least we're going together. "

"True, but unless I miss my guess, we're not going to be able to spend much time with each other. The last time I was on Pinea, there were fairly strict rules about males and females mixing after business hours."

"Rules are made to be broken, Kal," she smiled.

He chuckled. "I had a feeling that would be your attitude."

* * *

Once they were out of Earth's atmosphere and free from its gravity, Alexa prepared to engage the hyperdrive. Before she did though, she had to let her brother know where she'd disappeared. He was probably already a little worried; she hadn't told him she'd left Gotham for the Metrotower in the first place. Nor had she told him about Kal. The only people who knew how she felt were Barda and Hippolyta—and no one in the world knew the brimming happiness inside her, apart from Kal. How to tell everyone else … Well, she would cross that bridge when she came to it. Whenever she told her family, it would have to wait until they got back from Pinea.

She opened a comms. channel to the Batcave, and Tom appeared. "There you are! You just disappeared from Gotham without a word."

"Metrotower. Kal and I have been sent on an urgent off-planet mission."

"What?"

"To stop a war before billions of people lose their lives."

"Oh, that kind of urgent off-planet mission." Tom looked over her shoulder to where Kal sat. "Look after my sister, won't you?"

Alexa managed to wipe the grin from her face about half a second after it had appeared there, and the laughter was confined to a slight tremble of her shoulders. She glanced—very quickly—at Kal, but he looked entirely serious.

"I will."

"Good. Have fun."

"We will. Tell Mom and Dad, and Terry—Mira'll probably tell Matt herself."

"Okay. How long d'you think you'll be?"

"I don't know. I'll send you a message if it's going to be more than a week or so. Do what you can with the press."

"Will do. Be careful, please."

"And you."

"Bye, Kal."

"See you, Tom."

Thomas disappeared, and Alexa engaged the hyperdrive once they were braced for the fist-punch that came with it. "It'll take us about ten hours to reach Pinea," she announced.

"Alright."

She got out of her seat and went to kiss him, just for the joy of being able to. After a moment, they both looked at the bed in the ship's tiny medical treatment area. Alexa for one was more than ready to make full use of it—but equally, she knew they shouldn't. She wanted their first time to be about nothing but the two of them. This would just be snatched in a brief moment, and over far too soon. She let out a sigh, which Kal echoed.

"We can't."

"No. Work to do."

He cupped her face gently and kissed her. "Neither of us are going anywhere, right?"

She smiled. "Right."

"Then there's always time."

She sighed and ran her fingers through his hair. "Why is it everyone's always telling me to have patience?"

"Can't think why," he smirked.

They shared one more kiss and then separated, each of them turning to their own work. Alexa pushed her mask back and set to concentrating. The rest of the flight was spent poring over the documents about the bio-bomb that Alexa was supposed to be sabotaging. It was a step above the kind of nanotechnology she was expert in, but it wasn't all that dissimilar, being a genetically engineered virus, with both mechanical and biological functioning parts. Unfortunately there was a lot of room for manoeuvre, meaning that once it had killed all Shae, there was nothing stopping it from turning on Rengar, and then mutating to spread out across the rest of this sector. But it should not be too difficult to destroy. Blowing it up wouldn't work, since that would release the bio-mechanical agents. But releasing some kind of …

A chuckle roused her from her thinking, and she looked over to see Kal looking at her. "What?"

"You know you poke your tongue into the side of your cheek when you're concentrating?"

"I do not."

"Yes you do. It's cute."

She glared. "I am Batwoman. I am not _cute_."

"You're adorable."

"You repeat that and I might have to break out the kryptonite."

"Empty threat."

She rolled her eyes. "I have the feeling they're always going to be empty threats with you …"

He came over, leaning over to look at her datapad. "What were you thinking about?"

"How I could destroy the bio-bomb, whether with a bio-mechanical antibody or by putting the virus in isolation and treating it like you would any other biological weapon."

"Removing it would be more risky, if someone else got their hands on it."

"True. But manufacturing an antibody is difficult, and as to combining it with a mechanical part … I've only done some study into organic computing, and I'd only have a vague idea where to start."

"You'll be able to do it."

"Easy for the person who doesn't have to to say," she commented dryly.

Kal kissed her, apparently to erase her argument. Annoyingly it worked, and he was right anyway. There really was only one solution. This was weaponry too dangerous to be anything but utterly destroyed. "The situation on Pinea must be extreme for the Rengar to even consider using this."

"I imagine they're pretty desperate, with how long the war's been going on."

"How are things looking your end?"

"It's knotted. The main cause seemed to be an energy crisis for both sides, but then there was a regime change in Shae, and Rengar decided the supply chain was no longer reliable. They took it by force, or tried, and the war was triggered. They've been at stalemate for almost five years now."

"How are they still at a stalemate, if Shae have the power source?"

"I don't know. Lantern information is sparse at best, and most of this is coming from Shae."

"There is something else that might be problematic."

"What?"

"The Shae complex is likely to be underground, because of the atmospheric disturbances, and we're probably going to be there for days, if not a week or two trying to sort this mess out."

"And?"

"I don't know what opportunities there are going to be to expose you to sunlight. If there had been time I would have brought a UV lamp with us, but there wasn't. How fast does your strength run out?"

"I honestly don't know. But I doubt it would be before we're done here."

"You're sure?"

He smiled. "Alexa, if I start feeling the least bit woozy, I'll let you know."

"I'm serious."

"So am I. It will be fine. And if we're there for more than a week, I'll leave the atmosphere to float in front of the sun for a while, okay?"

"Okay."

She went back to her studying, this time looking at the technology Shae was developing. It seemed to centre around a synthesised element called Refiblium, for both power and components. It wasn't anything she was familiar with, and the plans that had come with the description of the machine were really low on detail. She did not even know what the output of the machine was supposed to be, or what it was at the moment. She spent the next two hours absorbing everything she could, and finished just as Kal announced that they had arrived.

"We're here."

Pinea, from the outside, did not look like a hospitable place. The atmosphere was grey and black, roiling clouds lit by spasms of lightning. At her side, Kal was frowning.

"I guess it didn't look like that before," she said.

"No. It looked like Earth does, around the equator. It was beautiful. You would have liked it."

"It's artificially constructed weather. They released a stealth machine that rotates in orbit, generating permanent storm conditions. It's buried in there somewhere."

"Which side has control of it?"

"Neither. It was designed and built by an independent scientist, who got desperate and tried to shut Shae and Rengar down with it. They both relied heavily on solar energy at the time."

"Didn't work, I take it?"

"No. It slowed them down, but other technology was quickly developed and they carried on fighting. Now one of their problems is going to be pollution, once the war's over."

"Then let's get it over as soon as we can," he said, moving over to the communications console. "Shae base, this is Javelin 11, requesting permission to access landing site."

There was a hiss of static, then a clipped, military voice sounded. "_Javelin 11, broadcast bypassing code._"

Kal input the code which Mira had provided them, and after a moment, the voice came back. "_Bypass code accepted. Proceed to landing site according to coordinates_."

"Acknowledged." Kal switched the comms. off, then turned to her. "They definitely are the good guys, right?"

"Is it ever that simple, in a civil war situation? They seem to be. At least, they didn't start the war. But then America didn't start World War II and we still created its most destructive weapon. Either way, we're here to prevent further loss of life, and give Shae the advantage as long as is means an end to this mess."

"We have to work on the basis that the Lanterns did their homework."

She nodded, then glanced at him. "Ready for diplomatic mode? There's not a button I need to press somewhere is there?"

He grinned. "You press any more of my buttons and I must just explode."

Her eyes darkened. "Don't tempt me."

The spark flared between them yet again, and Alexa felt her body straining towards his. It took a combined effort to pull away, and even then she could still feel the pull. She was pretty sure this stood a high chance of coming to fruition somewhere highly inappropriate. With probably very bad timing. But damn it all if she wasn't looking forward to when it did.

To distract themselves, Kal took the pilot's seat to land the Javelin, while Alexa sat in the co-pilot's seat, so she had access to the weaponry and defensive systems. She put the shields up just in case, as a precaution. It was impossible to see through the swirling cloud and mist—for her at least, presumably Kal could—so they were entirely reliant on the ship's other navigation systems. Every hundred feet they descended, the altimeter beeped, then every fifty, ten, five and every metre until they reached twenty metres above the planet's surface.

"Over there," Kal said, pointing to their left.

"If you say so," Alexa replied.

When they got closer, she could see what looked like a landing platform. When they were settled down onto it, Kal cut the engines and they started descending, the platform taking them deep underground. Alexa scowled. No open air access meant escape could be difficult. Not that they were planning an escape, if this all went to plan. Any anyone who wanted to prevent said breakout would have a hell of a task, keeping she and Kal from where they wanted to go. It was a fairly quick descent, but still seemed to be taking forever. Alexa guessed they were already at least one kilometre under the surface.

The two of them went to stand at the back of the Javelin, ready to open the doors once they stopped. She was not looking forward to this mission, not least because it meant it was limiting her time with Kal right at the moment when she wanted to be spending _all_ of her time with him.

A similar thought seemed to occur to him, because he stepped closer and kissed her, slowly and sensually, like he was making sure every part of her knew it was wanted and desired. She knew it already, but it was definitely reinforced. But she still wanted more when he pulled away. She didn't let him get far, curling her fingers in his suit to prevent him.

She grinned. "If you think that's going to last me days on end, Superman, then you're gravely mistaken."

* * *

"Oh? How mistaken?"

When, after several more minutes, Alexa came back to her senses, she realised they had stopped. That they had been stopped for a while. "Oops."

"I blame you," Kal muttered.

"I blame malfunctioning equipment," she said slyly, pressing the button to open the doors of the Javelin.

Outside stood six members of Shae, all of whom were wearing pressed military uniforms and unimpressed expressions. Alexa might have blushed if not in the cowl—now she only had the urge to smirk. Kal was studiously avoiding her gaze, though he did shake his head slightly with a smile.

"Stop it."

"Stop what?" she asked innocently. "I have no idea what you're talking about." Stepping forward, she nodded to the first of the Pineans. "General."

"Batwoman? Welcome to Pinea."

* * *

**A/N: I know, I feel your (and Kal's, and Alexa's) frustration, but there will be lemoniest and lemon drizzle cakes coming up, promise. Review please! **


	20. Much Too Long

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews! And I'm sorry to disappoint again, but no lemons in this chapter either. I hope you enjoy anyway.  
**

_I don't feel rejected but I feel neglected,_

_You know me too well,_

_But you keep twisting my arm_

_There was a time when we had everything_

_You know my weakness_,

_To push me around,_

_We need to talk, nothing too serious_,

_I just can't keep this inside me no more._

Much Too Long—The Sounds

**Chapter Twenty**

"_How dare you go where I can't interrogate you!_" was the first thing Barda said.

Alexa laughed. "Not my choice, Barda."

They were speaking through the Javelin's ultra-long range communications system, which Bruce had designed. He was still manufacturing equipment for the League, even if he no longer took part in the activities.

Barda eyed her with a wide smile. "_Your expression is telling me everything anyway. You're practically glowng._"

Alexa knew the smile on her face was silly and a little bit besotted, but she did not try to muster up the grimness needed to wipe it off again. "Am I?"

"_Yeah. Decidedly the look of new love._"

The grin got a little bit wider. "It's a new relationship, Barda, it doesn't necessarily mean either of us is in love."

It was Barda's turn to laugh. "_You might want to practice that poker face before you tell your family that, Lexie._"

"Noted. Now do you want to hear my report or not?"

"_I do. Make it, Batwoman._"

They both sobered, and Alexa began the official reason she had contacted Earth. After this one she would send another to the Lantern Corps. "Superman and I arrived three days ago, and embarked on our mission immedaitley. I was shown to the Department of Munitions, to the research and development sector. The Rengar's bio-bomb is halfway to completion but is malfunctioning for unknown reasons; at my first opportunity I intend to exaggerate the existing problems if I can, or destroy it completely if that proves impossible. As for Shae's power source, it is also proving difficult to pinpoint the exact error stopping it from functioning correctly. I am running extensive diagnostics to resolve the problem. I estimate it will take at least another week, however."

"_Very well. How is Superman's mission progressing?_"

"Much the same. Neither side is willing to admit any culpability in starting the conflict while at the same time demanding the others accept full responsibility. The problem seems to come to division of resources, which Superman is focusing on, as it seems to be the best chance they have for a lasting peace deal. Again, it will take significant time to be resolved."

"_Time I hope you're not wasting_," Barda said slyly, back to teasing.

Alexa chose to ignore the implications of that tone, and answer the question literally. "Of course not. Once the energy generator is complete I will destroy the bio-bomb, and then I must return to Gotham. I suggest another League member be assigned to assist Superman."

She didn't want to leave, but she was certain Kal would understand Gotham being her priority. Some things never varied from generation to generation, after all. Barda rolled her eyes, but Alexa could see her fingers moving. "_Noted and pending._"

Batwoman nodded.

"_Is there anything else you wish to add to your report, Batwoman?_"

"Nothing for the moment."

"_Then thank you for your report. There will be another due in 48 hours._"

"Understood. Batwoman out."

That done, Alexa sent a text report to the Lantern Corps and then left the Javelin. It sat in Shae's underground hangar—which she still wasn't happy about—which was within easy walking distance of living quarters and their various governmental departments. There were a network of these tunnels, honeycombing under the planet's surface. Millions lived down here, farmed down here, lived down here. There was an entire generation who had never seen the sun. While Batwoman operated in shadows and nighttime, she could hardly imagine anything more soul destroying. It was already draining, they had only been there three days.

Her escort was waiting for her at the entrance to the hangar, standing rigidly. She didn't like him; he was very difficult to read, and he was good at stonewalling, and he followed her _everywhere_. She knew that if she got him alone and threatened him he would start singing like a canary, but so far the opportunity had not presented itself. She also knew he didn't like the fact (none of them did) that she had placed signal jammers in both her quarters and Kal's. Which they couldn't complain about without admitting the rooms were bugged in the first place.

"Are you finished with your communication?" the escort asked.

"Yes."

The Pineans had rigid necks but flexible spines, which as a result meant that they never developed the habit of nodding or shaking their heads. It had not occurred to Alexa how much she relied on non-verbal communication. It helped with the whole persona to be taciturn. Talking so much while in the suit felt very odd, and if they were here for much longer she was going to need a stretch of short meditation every day, just to be silent for a bit.

"I shall return you to the delegation chamber, where your colleague is."

"After you."

They marched to a subway station, where silver trains waited, alongside the dark blue military vehicles that brooded quietly in the background. People avoided looking at them, something she she'd noticed that she didn't like. It had the look of a culture that was afraid of the people who ruled it. But as Kal had said, men and women—unless bonded couples—didn't mix, and she imagined that any kind of revolution might be hard to plan. She hadn't had time to share her concerns with him though. Hadn't had time to share anything with him really. Another source of depression. Thankfully, the Pineans had different facial expressions too (tended to happen when you had four eyes, two noses and three different mouths depending on what you were eating), so she could still send subtly flirty expressions and gestures to him, even across a crowded room. One the plus side, they were now reciprocated. On the down side, it wasn't what either of them wanted to be doing. A pretty pathetic precursor to that, in fact. It seemed plainly unfair that, after so long, she theoretically _could _act and do what she desired, but practically she was being prevented from doing so. And if they were denied for much longer, then she had sneaking suspicion that Kal might get thoughts of 'taking things a little slower' running through his head, which was she was all for. _After_ the life-altering, earth-shattering, screamingly-pleasurable sex. Once that had happened they could go as slow as superhumanly possible, if he wanted to.

The neutral zone where Kal's diplomatic talks were being conducted were about a twenty minute train ride away, and she spent it staring down all the men in her carriage. It was fairly amusing, she felt, because they were all affronted at first, then defiant, and then eventually looked away first anyway. She could almost hear the collective sigh of relief when it arrived back at the neutral zone. During the day this was where she was, with her partner, so as not to arouse suspicion—and at night, she was repairing Shae's machine. Luckily she'd had years to adapt to the lack of sleep, so it did not bother her too much. There was still a little deep-seated exhaustion, sleep-debt that she owed from the ten days when Kal had been missing. But she wasn't planning on sleeping on the journey back to Gotham, either.

When they entered the diplomatic negotiating chamber, the arguing fell silent when they saw Alexa. "Forgive my absence, delegates."

"Please, join us, Batwoman. We were just debating access for the last reserves of tourquine ore."

"You mean the denial of access," one of the Rengar spat.

"We were perfectly willing to grant access on our terms."

"Your terms were unreasonable!"

"Delegates, please. We need to move past the terms then and try to find a negotiable settlement for now," Kal said calmly. "Now, from the amount of tourquine ore left, it's obvious that it has to be rationed between everyone on Pinea."

"How can we know Shae is not holding ore back?" one of the Rengars objected.

"You now control the vast majority of the ore fields!"

"And most are completely depleted!"

"Whose fault is that?"

"We are not here to apportion blame," Kal said. "Now, there are two options before us. The first is that the remaining ore is removed to the neutral zone and monitored and distributed by representatives of both governments."

"The personnel would have to be civilians, of course," Alexa added.

"How are we to protect them if no military guards are available to protect them?"

"You would have to extend a certain amount of turst."

"Trust _them_? Impo-"

Before the delegate could continue with any of his three mouths, Kal interrupted. "Which leads us to the second possibility."

"Which is?" grunted a reluctant Shae member.

"Hand the tourquine ore over to an independent peacekeeping authority, such as the Green Lanterns."

This produced a response, but it was muttered instead of angry. There seemed to be agreements and disagreements about the Lantern Corps in each faction. They had heard good things about the Lanterns. After all, it had been they who set up these negotiations. And they had chosen a trusted figure to lead them, and they did exist to keep peace throughout the galaxy. But they were still outsiders, they did not know the subtleties of Pinean culture, and how could they ever really be trusted forever? What if they damaged or erased some vital element of themselves because of their involvement with the Lanterns?

"Delegates, the Green Lantern Corps can be trusted absolutely. Their mission is to safeguard freedom and peace throughout the galaxy."

"Superman, what can you tell us of these Lanterns? Have you met them?"

"Yes. The Justice League works closely with Mira McGuiness, the Green Lantern assigned to Earth."

"She could be an isolated case," someone muttered.

Both Alexa and Kal heard him. "There has been a Green Lantern attached to Earth for decades," Batwoman said. "Hundreds of years, even. And none of them have ever given any cause for concern."

They all agreed they needed time to take that under advisement, so shortly after the negotiations broke up for the day, and everyone went home for the day. The two sides went to their bunkers and Kal and Alexa boarded their military train to go to their quarters.

"Did you have to say _hundreds _of years?" Kal asked, under his breath when they sat next to each other. "Made me feel ancient."

She grinned. "I'd be more than happy to help you establish what you're capable of, old man," she murmured back, "if you're having doubts."

He coloured, but looked away, and Alexa gave an inward sigh. Looked like it was seduction of the Amazonian kind after all. Never mind. There were benefits to that too.

They almost shared quarters, though not nearly as almost as she would have liked, their doors only being across a hallway from one another. It was slightly isolating, since it meant that each of them was alone all evening, even eating by themselves. Not that Alexa had eaten much since they'd been here. She had no problems killing her food, hunting, but she did prefer it to be dead once it was actually presented to her on the plate. All in all, she was definitely looking forward to getting her feet back on Terra Firma.

After she had eaten what she could of her meal, she pushed her plate away and cleared her throat. "Kal," she called softly, knowing he'd hear her through the walls, "I want you to come with me tonight. There's something off about this whole project that I can't put my finger on, and two pairs of eyes are better than one. Especially x-ray eyes. Feign interest in the project and they should let you come."

She headed to the door when the knock of her escort sounded, calm and unconcerned expression on her face. "Are you ready, Batwoman?"

"Yes. Are the materials I requested in the lab? The project can't continue until I have them."

"They are ready and assembled-"

Kal's door opened, and he stepped out with a smile of both of them. "Glad I caught you."

"What can I do for you, Superman?" the escort asked immediately, subtly putting his body in between them.

Just as subtly, Kal moved to Alexa's side. "I'd like to tag along," he said innocently. "I'm curious about this power generator."

"There's really nothing interesting about it, Superman. And it does not impact your mission here."

"I disagree," Kal said politely. "After all, my mission here is to ensure a peaceful and secure future for Pinea, and a major new technology such as this one would help to guarantee that."

"The project is classified. It could not be discussed in your negotiations."

"No, but hints of it may be necessary. Just enough to convey the general gift of it."

"The science is very complex-"

"Which you are more than capable of fully understanding, Kal," Alexa said firmly.

If nothing else, the amount of stonewalling that was going on here was further indication that something was out of joint, and she was determined to find out what. Finally the escort could see he was outnumbered, and could not make further objection without insulting Kal. He gave an assent that had not been requested.

"Of course you may accompany us, Superman."

"Thank you."

Alexa's working place was nothing like Kal's. There were no chairs, no daylight-simulated lighting, nothing but steel, fluorescent lighting and tubes everywhere, hissing gases and humming machinery, chemical siphons all leading to an enormous apparatus. It was in the centre of the room, twenty feet high and seven feet in diameter, a shiny black metal cylinder.

"What does it run on?"

"Refiblium. It's a synthesised element, and it should act a lot like plutonium in a nuclear reactor."

"So what's the problem?"

"The input/yield threshold is far too low. I'm not sure why. According to the information I have, refiblium is capable of producing the amount of power it needs to. But it isn't behaving as expected."

A scientist in purple overalls came over, having heard their conversation. "Batwoman, have you thought any more about my suggestion of running a stronger current through the machine? It may coax results."

Alexa shook her head. "I've told you, it wouldn't do any good. The Refiblium-"

She had to stop as a blinding pain ripped across her head, along with fear, a feeling of powerlessness and an unmistakable plea for help. After ten seconds, it faded, and she was able to straighten. She saw Kal doing the same thing.

"Hera," she breathed. "What was that?"

"I know exactly what that was," he said gravely. "I've felt it before."

"When?"

"When I first met J'onn. When he was a prisoner and calling desperately for help."

"So that must mean …"

Kal nodded, and finished her sentence. "Somewhere here, there's a telepath in great distress."

"A telepath?" the scientist asked, looking startled, and then shooting a panicked glance at the escort.

He came over immediately. "What's the problem?"

"There's a telepath somewhere," Alexa said. "Where?"

"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean."

Alexa probably would have done it, but Kal got there first. Looking angrier than she had ever seen him, he grabbed the escort's collar and pulled him that that their faces were only a few inches apart. "Bull," he growled. "I know what a telepath in distress feels like. Now _where _are they and _why_ are you keeping them locked up?"

It would take either a very brave man or a very stupid one not to break down and confess the truth then and there, and the escort was one of the two. He clenched his jaws. "Release me."

"Not until you tell me what I want to know."

It clicked in Alexa's mind. "There is no Refiblium, is there? At least none that works as a power source."

She and Kal looked at one another, then at the centre of the room. "The machine…"

After a moment, Kal nodded. "There's a female in there. She's wired in like a battery." He picked up a spare metal pole and wrapped it effortlessly around the escort, stopping his arms from moving at all. "Don't go anywhere."

Alexa had approached the machine, and rent open the metal easily, enlarging the hole with her bare hands. Inside there was the figure of an emaciated girl, needles sunk deep into her skin, electrodes pressed to her scalp and the soles of her feet. Her four eyes were wide as she wordlessly pleaded for help.

* * *

**A/N: The next chapter could be a little late, maybe Wednesday or Thurday next week - I have a lemon to write after all and they're always difficult for me. Review please! **


	21. The Light

**A/N: Sorry about the delay, folks! But as promised, here's the chapter with lemon attached. Of which there will be more in the future. This is the unbeta-ed version, and DaisyJane is working on the beta now, so please excuse any mistakes you find. Enjoy the chapter! **

_Nothing better than this, _

_Knowing that the storm can come,_

_You feel just like the sun,_

_Just like the sun._

_And you say, we're alright,_

_I'm gonna trust you, babe,_

_I'm gonna look in your eyes,_

_And you say, we're alright,_

_I'll follow you _

_Into the light._

The Light—Sara Bareillas

**Chapter Twenty One**

_I suppose the true definition of a war faring nation is when otherwise harmless people can suddenly pull a gun on you, _Alexa thought. It was exactly what had just happened to them. Every single person in the lab—the girl in her arms excepted—had suddenly whipped out some kind of weapon. No one bothered pointing it at Kal; all were aimed at she and the telepath.

The head scientist spoke. "Batwoman, I must ask that you replace her, back in the machine. Superman, untie the lieutenant." When no one moved (Kal had blurred in front of her the moment the guns appeared) except to glare, he spoke again. "I realise this looks … bad. But -"

"_Bad_?"

"We have no choice. Every power source we tried failed, but this subject is putting out so much energy -"

"Subject?" Kal barked out. "She's a person!"

The girl shifted in Alexa's arms, moving a little closer, her fear still palpable. As for Alexa herself, she was mostly ignoring the words. Too busy working out angles of fire and how best to get out of the situation. With violence, probably. Carefully planned and executed violence.

"The telepath is our only suitable power source. We must get this machine finished. Put her back."

Batwoman had a plan now, so she carefully replaced the girl. She didn't struggle, didn't cry out, because she knew what Alexa had planned. So did Kal, though he knew her well enough so that they didn't have to read each other's thoughts. They wouldn't have had to even if they could. Once the telepath was back inside, one of the technicians approached and pressed a series of buttons to close the machine. It only worked to a certain extent; now that Alexa had shredded the metal once it was difficult getting it to fit back together.

"Thank you," the scientist said. "Now, the lieutenant."

Alexa exploded into action. Her hand shot out to wrap around his neck, throwing him across the room, just as Kal did the same with another one. In seconds, laser beams were bouncing everywhere, before finally boring little smoking holes in the walls and equipment. Her bracers deflected any and all sent her way as she hurled people across the room, dodged and dealt out blows as well as prevented the alarm from being raised. A little unsuccessfully. It worked, up until a junior chemist got accidentally chucked into the master alarm switch. Until then, she and Kal had been working as a flawless team, just as they had in the past. The rush of it—despite the situation—was exhilarating. They had spent too many days playing diplomat to no effect, no consequence. Direct action answered every frustration.

Within twenty seconds of Alexa putting the telepath back, almost everyone in the room was disarmed or unconscious. They met in the middle of the room, breathless smiles on their faces and arms around each other. Their kiss was briefer than they'd intended it to be; a wave of fear and urgency lashed across both their minds from the telepath. Why she was scared was suddenly clear; in the commotion, the lieutenant's bonds had been loosened just enough for him to wriggle free. He had managed to grab a discarded gun, and was pointing it at the only vulnerable spot in the room—through the gap in the machine and straight at the telepath.

"That's enough," he gasped, sounding winded.

Alexa took a step forward. "I knew there was a reason I didn't like you."

"Not another step! I'll kill her!"

"No you won't. You just heard it yourself: you need her."

"Not that much."

Kal made an almost imperceptible motion for her to hold back, so she stopped. "Clearly, we need to find a compromise. We cannot be party to the exploitation of an innocent. And you still need a power source."

"There can be no compromise. Get to your Javelin craft and leave, immediately."

"Not without her."

The lieutenant snorted, revealing three sets of yellow teeth. "You will not be going _with _her."

"Then we will not be leaving at all."

"There is no solution. Get out."

"Not happening."

Alexa had the opportunity to slowly reach into her belt. There were a few batarangs, and her fingers curled around one of them. She had to be subtle—unfortunately now was one of those times having a cape would come in really handy. Thankfully for her, Kal was commanding the lieutenant's attention. She wasn't surprised. He was radiating power. Forcing away the warm prickle shivering over her skin—it was a really, really inappropriate time—she managed to aim it behind her back. There was a metal cabinet behind the two Pineans that she could ricochet it off.

"You must be in violation of your own laws," Kal said. "The very laws Shae are fighting to protect."

"Victory must be attained. No matter the cost."

"That's an attitude the military have drilled into you. You're a thinking person with a mind of your own. What's your victory worth if you turn yourself into monsters trying to achieve it?"

It almost looked like she wouldn't have to throw it; the lieutenant looked more convinced with each passing second, but there was no such thing as being too cautious. She threw it with perfect accuracy, and it bounced from the wall and struck him squarely on the back of the head. He collapsed with a wheezing sound, and Kal was there to open the machine and release the telepath.

"She's alright," he said. "And that was a nice throw, but– Alexa? What are you doing?"

She was moving all around the lab, opening refrigerated cabinets and searching through test tubes. "I need to run an analysis on the Refiblium, if there's any left."

"I thought you –" he cut off, looking in confusion at the telepath, who was giving him the location. Then he pointed to Alexa's left. "There's a sample in there."

She ripped the door off its hinges in her haste to get the element out, and then stuck it into one of the only still-functioning analysers in the lab. Nothing could be done to hurry the analysis, though, and Kal could think of something other than standing around that they should be doing. Like getting to the Javelin and letting the Lanterns sort out this mess. Or letting the Pineans sort themselves out, one way or the other. He found he didn't care all that much, as long as he got the telepath and Alexa out of here safely.

"Alexa, we need to go."

"We'll never be able to get out of here safely," she replied. "The hangar is at least seven clicks away, and then we'd still have to get the Javelin up through two miles of crust before we got to the surface. And then there's nothing to stop them firing on us and destroying the ship."

"We'll take that chance. The alarm's been raised, there are already soldiers on their way."

"But then we lose the mission."

"Lose the –" he stopped in disbelief. She couldn't still believe they could _save _the mission, surely? But he knew she did; there was determination in every line of her body, and resolve in the grim line of her mouth. The absolute confidence that they could still snatch this from the jaws of defeat was palpable. He'd seen both traits in each of her parents before, and he knew that in Alexa they were combined with breathtaking durability. He'd never be able to talk her out of it in time. And if she had reason to believe they could save it, then it was a good reason.

"Talk quickly."

"If the Refiblium does what I think it does then there could be a viable –"

It was too late for explanations though. The six units of soldiers Kal had heard coming all burst into the lab through the various entrances, all of them with more guns pointed at them. No one fired though, and no one spoke, either. Their expressions were perfectly blank; their heartbeats were all monotonously settled. They were men capable of anything: men like that made him nervous. In contrast, the telepath's heartbeat was wildly frightened, and Alexa's was faster than normal too. On her though, there were the faintest traces of dopamine as well as the adrenaline he might expect. Of course. A battle. An Amazon. _Warrior born._

In the oppressive silence—although of course there was never any such thing as _silence_, not for him—they waited. After an interminable amount of time, the analyser beeped, flashing up its results. Alexa's hand darted out to take them, but one shot was fired with pinpoint accuracy. His heart leapt, but Alexa had deflected it with just as much accuracy, and the laser pinged off to hit the ceiling.

"Please don't touch anything, Batwoman." In came one of the generals who had greeted them on their arrival on Pinea. He looked remarkably at ease.

"You have no right to do this to another sentient creature," Alexa said.

"If you have a functioning alternative, I'll be happy to hear it," the general said coolly.

"Then listen," Alexa replied, her voice as crisp as breaking ice. "The Refiblium is useless, am I right? You messed up with the synthesis."

"Yes."

"But its _projected _results were promising, and you built the machine assuming they were correct. The alterations to it have been slight, to adapt it to the telepath."

"What is your point?"

"Have you still got the original designs?"

"Of course, but they are useless –"

"It's not useless. I have a viable alternative to the Refiblium."

"What?"

"The core in our hyperdrive is tritium. If I removed it from the Javelin, and put it in this machine, it should work. And it should solve all your energy problems, and it should do it _without _the need for torturing innocent people. A regular supply could easily be set up from Earth."

The first flicker of doubt appeared in the general's eyes, and Kal's mind was suddenly overwhelmed with relief from the telepath. "How?" the general asked.

"You're a military man, General. It would take a scientist to fully understand. All you need to know is that it will work."

"Go and get it them. But you'll get it with some help. Squad 3, accompany Batwoman to the hangar. Squads 7, 9 and 2, keep your weapons trained right where they are."

The two of them shared a brief glance, but it was enough to have a conversation.

_Do you have to go with them? _

_They won't try anything, I'm their lifeline now. It's the only way. _

_What about breaking out?_

_Too dangerous for her. _

_Be careful. _

_I don't want to – _

_You won't. It won't be long before we're back. Look after her. _

Then she was gone, leading the way from the lab with all the dignity of the princess she was. After that, he demanded medical attention for the telepath (which was given, albeit grudgingly), he was left to count the seconds and keep any eye on her for as far as he could. And his ears on her long after that.

* * *

She did see not even one civilian on the way to the Javelin. Alexa imagined an iron curfew had come down, and she knew they were already scared after all. She was actually glad; it meant there was less chance of them getting hurt. Alexa waited until she was safely within the ship before launching her attack. Apparently they were so concerned she might be a flight risk that all six members of the squad were required to follow her in. Which left precisely … none of them outside to raise the alarm.

She smirked. _Idiots._

It was simple enough. Once at the command console, she accessed the main engine controls and beckoned one of the guards over. "Keep your hand on that button."

"What? Why?" he asked, immediately suspicious.

She glared and barked out a plausible explanation very quickly. "Unsecured tritium is highly unstable, and by severing it from the Javelin, I'll be unsecuring it. This is a manual stabilisation override. You take your hand off before I tell you to, we all go up in very hot flames, understand?"

"Fine. How long will it take?"

"A few minutes. It's a delicate operation."

The engine access panel was on the outside of the ship, of course, but it could be opened from inside. Once she had, she gestured to her gullible guard, who pressed firmly on the button. What he was in fact doing was opening an emergency channel to the Green Lanterns. A channel that only worked one-way. It had been her father's design, used in cases of hijack. The Javelin's communication system would lock on to the nearest League ally, without the hijackers being alerted, and broadcast whatever was happening inside the craft. With luck, there was already a contingent of GLs on their way.

To make sure, Alexa added a little more procrastination in, pretending she didn't know exactly what to do. She accessed the instruction manual for removing the hyperdrive core. A Shae very helpfully prodded her in the back with the barrel of his weapon.

"What's taking so long?"

"I need to make sure I understand the process fully."

"You said the tritium could serve as an alternative –"

"It can, but oddly enough I've never dismantled a hyperdrive before, and if it's alright with you, I'd like to do it without blowing us all sky-high!"

"Just hurry."

She figured she had bargained for all the time she was going to get, so leaving the console she (and her five guards) went back outside to the hull of the ship. A section of it had slid back, revealing the intricate inner workings of the Javelin. It looked suitably complex, and to someone untrained it was—but Alexa had been taking things like this apart for a very long time. When she had Tommy had been five, they had decided to sneak into their father's garage and dismantle the engine of the original batmobile. Bruce's punishment had not been shouting or grounding. Instead, he had made them spend the next decade learning every level of mechanical engineering, so that they could put his prize car back together again in the pitch black, if they had to.

A small keypad lay just inside the engine hatch; Alexa's fingers tapped quickly over it, and there was a low whirring in answer. The hyperdrive core was coming out. In actual fact, while the tritium was a great fuel source, there was nothing _more _stable, but her guards all took a step back when the glowing red canister arrived. Alexa disconnected it from its couplings, then made to stand up. She stumbled, and the tritium fell from her hands.

The nearest guard lunged forwards to catch it before it hit the ground—and then seemed to realise his mistake about half a second before Alexa's fist collided with the top of his head. The tritium went tumbling to the ground anyway, and he wasn't slow to follow it. She hadn't watched him fall; as the blow with her fists was delivered, her left leg kicked out and hit another one across the hangar. He hit the side of another ship and lay still. Before the remaining three could fire on her, she span around and grabbed the gun of the nearest one. Crushing it like tin foil in her fingers, she sank her other fist into his midsection, and he followed his previously-flying comrade. The useless gun still in her hands, she used it as a club to take out another guard—and then made her only mistake. She had been a little too casual about her attack though; the final guard had time for one shot. She deflected it into the belly of the Javelin, where it made almost no impact, before knocking him out. She was annoyed, though. Granted, laser beams were quieter than bullets, but there was still every chance the noise could have alerted –

"What's going on out there?"

Damn. Now she had to move fast. Picking up the tritium, she ran inside the Javelin holding it like a shield. It was enough to cause some hesitation, and provided a useful weapon for knocking the final guard out. That done, Alexa crossed to the comms.

"Batwoman to any Green Lantern listening, come in. Repeat, this is -"

"_Batwoman, this is Green Lantern Kai'sek Tonah. Oa received your distress signal. Is the situation resolved?_"

"No. Superman and I are not under attack but the danger is immediate. The Shae have been deceiving you, Lantern. We can still complete the mission but we will need assistance."

"_We're already en route._"

"Good. I'll open the entry hatch for you—just get here as quickly as you can. Batwoman out."

* * *

Kal was utterly unsurprised when Alexa returned silently to the lab, alone and apparently casual about it. Relieved, though. Unsurprised, yes, but strongly relieved. It caused a ripple of unease to run through the Shae, and the general looked outraged.

"Halt!"

She stopped.

"Explain yourself."

"I said I could do it with the tritium. I went to get the only sample of it on Pinea. What exactly don't you understand?"

"Where are my men?"

"Scattered between here and the Javelin, most of them."

The general went livid—lividly blue, with his species. "You killed –"

"I didn't kill anyone. But nor do I require escorting around constantly. Frankly, it was beginning to wear before today."

"You, go and see if what she says is true," the general ordered one of the lab technicians. "I told you to remain still!" he yelled at Alexa, when she took a few steps forward.

Kal's muscles tightened. He could get there, if he had to, but there were always unaccounted for variables. There was always that terrible whisper: _what if _… Alexa was showing no signs she needed a rescue, true, and she was cool and calm under pressure just as she always was. But it had been a very long time since he had been able to just watch and admire her in action. She meant too much to him for that.

"I'm simply going to place the tritium," she said. "You want me to, yes?"

"How do I know you won't –"

"What would be the point? You have your insurance," she said, gesturing to the telepath, over whom Kal still stood guard.

He felt the girl touch his mind. _She has her insurance too_, she whispered. _The emerald guardians are coming. _

He looked over at Alexa, the plan now silently and flawlessly rolling out between them. He had to admit, it was a brilliant plan. _Oh, well done, my darling. Well done. _

The general did not seem to be enjoying being stuck between a rock and a hard place; he was secreting stress hormones now and two of his eyes were blinking very rapidly.

"Very well. Very well, do it."

The succeeding events happened in quick sequence. Alexa put the tritium into the machine, and it spat out a series of results within moments. No one had time to look at them properly—although it looked fairly promising—before there was the sound of laser beam bursts from outside the lab. It was followed by the unmistakable noise that was the creation of a hard light construct. The cavalry was here. Alexa abandoned the tritium to rush across the lab to Kal's side. They let the GLs sort out the Shae, and protected the telepath through the storm of gunfire that transpired. It took a few minutes for all the soldiers to be taken down, and then a tall female Aquoid came over to them, extending a webbed hand.

"Kai'sek Tonah, at your service."

Alexa shook it, and then Kal did the same. "Thank you for coming."

"Anything for an ally. Are either of you hurt?"

"No."

"Are you alright?" she asked the telepath, who nodded. "What do you two want to do now?" she asked them.

"The tritium should work for the time being as an energy source, but until I analyse the results I can't tell for how long," Alexa replied.

"Couldn't the scientists here do that?"

"Yes, but they can't replicate or replace the tritium once it's expired. When it does run out, you'll need some more. It's easily obtainable from Earth, so supply to Pinea shouldn't be a problem."

"But it needs to be moved from here," Kal said. "It can't be left here for the Shae to exploit it and win the war against Rengar. They may not have started it but they can't be allowed to win it now."

"Looks like they were driven to it by desperation."

"This whole situation reeks of desperation. This could resolve every issue here and now. We have to do it, or we fail in every one of our duties."

Kai'sek nodded. "I agree. But we can hardly impose an occupation on a hostile world. Even if it wasn't against our oath, it would take the entire Corps to do it."

"Rengar will probably be more than happy to work with you, and Shae won't have a choice."

That was also agreed with, and arrangements were made for the machine to be moved to the neutral zone. As for the two Justice Leaguers: "You two must want to go home pretty badly," Kai'sek said kindly.

It couldn't be denied, but neither of them could in good conscience leave until they knew for certain that there was nothing more they could do. Thankfully (for Alexa at least; she was aching to get off this godsforsaken planet), Kai'sek shook her head firmly when possible objections were raised. "I am absolutely sure we can handle the situation from here on. We'll be in touch if anything requires your attention."

Alexa's shoulders relaxed, ever-so-slightly, and Kal's did the same. But still, they both turned to the telepath first, seeking her assurance. They'd become quite protective over the fragile female, but she was managing a smile with at least one of her mouths now.

_Thank you for saving me._

"We'll stay if you want us to."

_You wish to be with each other, though. And the emerald guardians will protect me and help my people. Go. _

"Never got your name," Alexa said softly, making him smile. Exactly the question Diana would have asked.

Her mouth worked for a moment, before she finally managed, "Ch- Chitani."

"Then I hope we meet again, Chitani. Stay safe."

They took their leave, making it to the Javelin about fifteen minutes later. The Lanterns waved them off happily, and Alexa let out a long sigh of relief, throwing her mask back as they made their way to the surface. Kal came up behind her and slid his arms around her waist, chin comfortably resting on her shoulder.

"Mission accomplished?" she asked.

He kissed her cheek. "Most definitely."

"So we can go home now?"

"No place like it."

She cracked a grin and slipped out of his arms, heading for the pilot's seat. "You would know, Kansas-boy," she quipped.

Once they were at the surface, she plotted a course out of the atmosphere, and then input one for Earth. It was when they were far enough from Pinea to engage the hyperdrive that the error message flashed up on the heads-up display.

Alexa took her hands from the controls. "Ah."

Kal looked over to her with one eyebrow raised. "Ah?"

"What did I just give to the Pineans?"

"Ah. How fast can we travel without it?"

"Well, put it this way: by the time we reach the Solar System, we'll both be dead from old age. And I'm completely immortal."

"That is a problem."

"We still have the auxiliaries, and with them we should reach Lantern space in another sex hours. They can pick up our distress signal and come get us then."

He looked at her quizzically. "Sex hours?"

"Six."

He smirked. "Something on your mind, Alexa?"

She flicked a few switches, and the lights in the cabin dimmed. Then she promptly sat down on his lap. "Now that you mention it." She moved her face closer to his, feeling a surge of anticipation at the way his breathing hitched. His eyes were already on her mouth. "Kal …"

"We can't."

"Why not? We have six hours to kill. What else would you rather spend it doing?"

"We shoul –"

She cut him off by pressing her fingers firmly against his mouth. Her voice shook with supressed desire when she continued. "Before you finish that sentence, Kal, you should know that even given the recent circumstances, I have been _monumentally _patient about this –"

"_This_ is you being –"

She interrupted him again, this time with her tongue as she kissed him deeply. "And I think, if you make me wait any longer, I might just go _mad_. So please," she kissed his cheek, "please …" his lips, "_please_ …_"_

She got to placing one, heated, brand of her mouth against his neck before he finally snapped. Suddenly, the top half of her suit was lying in two distinct pieces either side of the chair, and Kal's hands were—well, everywhere his mouth wasn't. Relief and desire tripled in her as Alexa tilted her head back, a trail of flame being traced up her throat. She moaned as he thumbed her nipples, then retaliated, kissing him hungrily and then biting at his bottom lip. Not something she'd ever allowed herself to do with any other lover, but she had no fear of hurting him. He groaned, and suddenly they were both on the medical treatment bed, Kal above her. Not the most Amazonian of positions, but right now she couldn't find it in her to care. His suit went the same way as hers had, bearing them to each other. Alexa wrapped her legs around his hips, pulling their hips together with just two too many layers between. They both still moaned at the contact, and when his mouth descended again to her chest, she arched her back, fingers twining in his hair to keep up the pleasurable torment. It all felt indescribably wonderful, but Aphrodite help her, this just wasn't happening fast enough. She was no more careful—though perhaps she should have been—about removing the lower half of his suit than she had been about the top, and neither was he, so within another ten seconds they were both unclothed. And for both of them, the universe ceased to exist. At no point, in all the instances of wanting him, of finding him attractive, sexy even, had she ever stopped to consider just how … beautiful he really was. It simply emanated from him in the same way his goodness did. She could not have been more reverent if her lover had been the sun god himself. She saw something similar dawn in Ka's eyes, and he kissed her then, with more emotion in it than she'd ever thought could be conveyed that way. Her heart swelled, her breath caught and wouldn't start again.

He ran a soft hand through her hair. "I don't want to hu –"

"You won't."

He was still as tender and gentle as he could be, though, when he pushed inside her. She drew in a sharp breath at feeling her body filled—not at the pressure, but at his size. Not that she made a habit of choosing … inconsiderable lovers, but Kal more than surpassed them all. Just as she'd been sure he would, closing her eyes in bliss.

When they were completely joined, air began flooding into her lungs. The sensation of wholeness was almost enough to take it away immediately again, their first movement together already too much to bear. She craved more of it, and moved her hips in time with his, refusing to look away from him, refusing to close her eyes against the intensity. There was nothing tentative about their rhythm—it was slow, yes, but because the sensuality of it was what they both needed. The further the reality of it sank in—the more she felt his muscles moving under his skin, the more acutely she heard his ragged breathing, the more clearly she saw his feelings for her in his gaze—the greater the pleasure became. This was _now_, this was _happening_, this was _him_ and _her_ and the cementing of everything that had existed, did and would ever exist between them. This was wishes coming true, dreams being quite literally fulfilled. It was promises being made. It all spilled from her in one, long, rapt, wonderous mantra of his name.

* * *

In another ship, which was on its way through the system Pinea sat in, on its way back to Earth from New Genesis, the two-person crew had just picked up the Javelin's distress signal. In the ship was Mr Miracle himself, Scott Free, and Dove. Not the first teenage member of the League to bear the name, of course, but this had hardly been his first mission. But he was still too young to be hearing what he was now.

It had started innocently enough. Picking up a distress signal, Mr Miracle had opened a comms. channel to let Superman and Batwoman know they were here, and ascertain why they needed assistance. But as soon as the channel was open, Mr Miracle's words died in his throat. Because what was coming through the speakers from the other Javelin did _not _sound like they were in distress. At all. He felt his jaw drop.

So did Dove's. "Is that-?" he breathed.

To remove any doubt, Scott heard what was definitely Alexa's voice. It was chanting, "Oh, Kal, Kal, _Kal _…"

Scott hurriedly closed the comms. channel. He really didn't think his ears could stand to hear _Superman's _– For that matter, his brain couldn't stand to think it either. "Okay …"

"That was … That was …"

"We don't know that. I'm sure there's a perfectly –"

The look the teenager sent him was sceptical. "Sir, I'm nineteen. I've watched enough porn in my life to know what sex sounds like. "

"Yes, well, um … We should probably let them know –"

"If you're planning on interrupting them, you can just jettison me into space now," Dove said hurriedly. "I mean, she's scary enough the rest of the time, let alone when she's mid –"

"A-Alright, you may have a point."

"Look, I doubt they'll notice if we just towed them home, right? We have a tractor beam after all."

"True."

"So let's just do that. You contact the GLs and let them know we've got the Javelin, and I'll concentrate on flying the ship and scrubbing my brain with mind-bleach. Work for you?"

"Works for me. Plot a course and take us home."

It was about an hour and a half past the allotted six hours by the time Alexa realised that the GLs should have picked them up by now. But it was still a few moments before she could care about it. She was nearly, nearly on the verge of the first sleep she'd had in about twenty four hours, after all. Not that she was complaining about how she'd spent the last seven hours and thirty eight minutes. Far from it. Now though, it was too warm, to unutterably pleasant in Kal's arms to even think about stirring from them. Likewise, every part of her ached and buzzed in the best afterglow after. It sounded tired, old and clichéd, but, goddesses, she could be taken to the Elysian Fields now, and she would die a very happy woman. Sweaty, but happy.

"We should have been rescued by now," she murmured.

"Let them rescue themselves for once," Kal replied, obviously more than halfway asleep and not paying attention to what she'd said.

He dropped a kiss to her hair and ran a finger down her spine. Ultra-sensitised as she was (now), even that was enough to cause her to shiver and hiss through her teeth sharply, at which he chuckled lowly. "By the goddesses, you're going to be the death of me …"

"That doesn't sound like a complaint to me, Alexa …"

She tilted her head, considering. "I can think of worse ways to go, I guess." She sat up, stretched languidly. "But seriously, we should have heard from the Lanterns by now."

She got to her feet, and then discovered that walking in a straight line was going to take some adjustment. Naturally, Kal noticed, and got the wrong idea. "I knew it—I hurt you, didn't I?"

"No," she smiled. "There's just a little aching in … some places. But it's the good kind of ache, trust me."

He looked a little more relieved. "So, any sign of the GLs? Did we drift off-course or something?"

Alexa moved forward from the back of the ship, only getting as far as the middle. Once she could see out of the front window. She froze in her tracks. "Oh great Hera."

Concerned by the very rare shock and confusion on her voice, Kal went to stand by her side. And experienced a similar reaction. "Rao…"

They were orbiting a very familiar planet. With a very familiar space station just coming over the curve of the Earth. He really hoped none of the Watchtower cameras were pointed in their direction.

**A/N: Review please!**


	22. Use Somebody

**A/N: Sorry about the delay, people. I also apologise for the mistake made with Chapter 17. I have no idea when I made it, but Chapter 22 is as a consequence dedicated to One Over Infinity, for kindly bringing it to my attention :) Also thank you for the marvellous Daisy Jane for the beta - and enjoy the chapter!  
**

_I've been roaming around,_

_Always looking down at all I see,  
_

_Painted faces fill the places I can't reach,  
_

_You know that I could use somebody,  
_

_You know that I could use somebody,  
_

_Someone like you and all you know and how you speak,  
_

_Countless lovers under cover of the street,  
_

_You know that I could use somebody,  
_

_You know that I could use somebody,  
_

_Someone like you,  
_

Use Somebody—Kings of Leon

**Chapter Twenty Two**

Alexa's first, overwhelming urge, was to giggle. She knew they'd been caught up with each other, but to entirely miss being towed through hyperspace—for _Kal _to miss it…

"I didn't hear a thing," he said.

She laughed. "Well, I knew I was good, but to disable Superman completely… I think that's the last piece of the puzzle in my plan for world domination. Lex Luthor ever try that?"

"Thankfully no," he shuddered. "Anyway, I think you need clothes before you can be appointed supreme world dictator."

"Good point. You don't happen to have a sewing kit on you?"

He actually looked genuinely surprised. "You don't have one in that belt of yours? Standards slipping between generations I see."

She narrowed her eyes at him, but he only grinned to show he meant it in jest, and she sighed. They still had a sartorial problem after all. Happily, there was something that had not _slipped _between generations, and that was having a backup plan. She touched her com-link. "Batwoman to Big Barda."

"_I'm going to need your overrides._"

"What?"

"_For your quarters,_" Barda explained, sounding utterly smug. "_If I'm going to pick up something for the two of you to wear, then I'll need the entry codes." _

Alexa sighed, then asked in a resigned tone, "How?"

"_Scott. He was the one who towed you back. They decided –"_

"They?"

"_Oh, Dove was with him_," Barda told her, still sounding entirely gleeful and like she was really anticipating the _weeks _of teasing that were going to follow this, _"Anyway, they decided it would be better not to interrupt you." _

"Comms. channel?"

"_Yep." _

"Great."

"_So, codes?" _

"2292088," Alexa said. "Kal's is 6122113."

"I shouldn't be surprised you know that, should I?" he murmured with a wry smile.

"No," she grinned back. "Day you re-joined the League." More romantically, it was also the day they met, but that hadn't been his reasons for choosing it at the time, she was sure.

"What's yours?"

"The date my mother came back to Man's World. To Dad."

"_Okay, I'll have your uniforms beamed to you in a few moments. Barda out._"

Once Alexa had cut the connection, she buried her face in her hands. "I am never going to hear the end of this."

"Did she know before?"

She glanced up at him through her fingers. "Sort of. She's my best friend, it's difficult to hide stuff. And I wasn't doing a great job of hiding how I felt. Not with how much I panicked when …"

Kal took her hand. "When I disappeared?"

"Exactly."

Her eyes had gone distant again, and she worried at her slightly-swollen bottom lip. He squeezed her fingers, and she smiled gratefully. "Sorry. Brooding."

"Definitely your father's daughter."

She embraced him, closing tired eyes. "I really hope Gotham's quiet. I'm exhausted."

The sun—albeit filtered through the window—streamed into the Javelin, bathing them both and giving Kal all the replenishing energy he needed. It was almost impossible to believe that his arms were around her waist, that it was bare skin under her hands. Taking the opportunity, she uttered a silent prayer of thanks to Aphrodite for this. The goddess had to have granted it, and it seemed rude (and would likely invite her wrath) to ignore it.

"_I'm sending your suits now," _Barda said in her ear.

"Thank you."

There was a little burst of white light, and their clothing appeared on the floor of the Javelin. "_I suggest the two of you invest in spares," _Barda recommended cheerfully, before cutting the connection.

They dressed, then piloted the Javelin down to the Metrotower. It was surprisingly easy not to blush when they went into the Metrotower hangar, on the thirty-fifth floor. Barda was, naturally, waiting, and she had the biggest possible grin on her face. But Alexa was Batwoman now, with the mask and cowl familiarly in place. She did not get embarrassed. She didn't even have a _concept _ofit. It was helped by the fact that she wouldn't have felt ashamed of anything anyway. Unfortunate that Mr Miracle and Dove had been subjected to an audiobook version, but she and Kal had done nothing wrong. She fully expected—and anticipated—doing it again. Only this time she'd make sure that all cameras and microphones had been switched off. She was pretty sure that their sparring sessions were about to enter a delicious new phase of combat.

"When will I see you again?" Kal asked.

"You could come by the manor later," she suggested. "We could … work on the mission report together."

He grinned. "I'm not sure I could make a comprehensive job of the _report_ at the moment."

"Neither could I. But, a few hours' rest and who knows?"

Before she went down the access ramp, Kal took her hand again. "Alexa, I don't just want this to be about that. You know that, don't you?"

"Of course I do. How about just dinner then?"

"Dinner's good. Eight?"

She smiled. "Eight it is."

They went down together, and Barda looked a little disappointed that she wasn't going to get a blush, but she recovered her professionalism quickly. "Superman, Batwoman. Welcome home. Mira's waiting for your debriefing."

"I'll go see her now," Kal said. "Excuse me."

Barda waited until he was safely out of the room before saying, "So? How was it?"

Alexa groaned. "Barda…"

"Jeez, he's not actually faster than a speeding bullet is he?"

She managed a small smirk. "Only in recovery time."

"Oh. I take it you won't be sitting down on any hard surfaces for a while then?"

"Honestly, the only surface I want to see right now is my bed."

"Well, hopefully the debriefing will be quick."

"Barda, I know we can trust Scott, but do I need to … have a word with Dove?"

She shook her head. "Wouldn't have thought so. He's terrified of you anyway, and now that _Superman _is your paramour, it's unlikely he'll say anything."

"Good. I'll apologise to Scott later."

"Not sure you need to do that either," Barda chortled. "I think he's trying to pretend it never happened. Even telling me made him really uncomfortable. I just wouldn't mention it at all."

"Fair enough."

Alexa went through a speedy debriefing with GL, then contacted her brother. "Tommy."

"_Hey, sis. Back on terra firma?"_

"Yes. Anything I should know about?"

"_Nope. Just the usual –" _there was the sound of a punch, then a grunt of effort from Tom before he continued, "_criminals and scum. Nothing I can't handle._"

"Sure?"

"_Yeah."_

"Alright, I'll see you back home."

The closer she got to the manor and her bed, the more her fatigue weighed on her. She went to the Batcave first though, updating her own logs and researching viable sources of tritium to be shipped to Pinea. Just as she was logging off, the batmobile swooped in, Thomas piloting. He jumped out and then hugged her.

"Good to have you back, Lexie."

"Good to be back."

He pulled away and winked. "Missed me?"

"As always. But the mission was successful, just. I mean, we almost got killed, but it all worked out in the end."

"I'll read the report later. I've missed you too, by the way. This place is too big for one person."

"Yeah—have you been staying in the city then?"

"Yeah, at the company penthouse. And I'll be back there tonight too, sorry."

"Party?"

He shook his head. "Date."

Dates, when you were Thomas Wayne, almost always meant sex, and Alexa was glad of it, for once. Tommy being out meant she had Kal had the whole mansion to themselves, to _be _themselves. Her mind immediately filled with images of all the opportunities _that _presented, but she doubted she'd be capable of the most of them by tonight. The more adventurous ones, anyway. Oblivious to his sister's thoughts, Tom chatted away about everything she'd missed while off-planet. Alexa (eventually) managed to drag her head out of the gutter to pay a decent amount of attention. He explained to her how the company fared, news from their family, the city and everything else. Then he made her breakfast, to cement his place as best-brother-in-the-world. They both went to bed after that and let the robot clear up.

In previous days and nights of sleep, Alexa had gone to bed always knowing what her dreams would bring her—a lot of heated images, yearning and then a serious bout of sexual frustration when she woke alone. Or in Michael's bed, as had happened before their break up. Granted, that meant it hadn't been sexual frustration that greeted her in the morning; more a strange kind of guilt at emotionally cheating on one of them, and physically cheating on the other. Tonight, though—or today, as the sun was just rising—she happily had no idea what her dreams might hold. If she was lucky, she might just get a rerun of the best seven hours thirty eight minutes of her life. She had to admit, relaxing against the snowy-white feather pillows, they were definitely some perks to being a meta.

* * *

It was five thirty in the afternoon when Tom finally dragged himself out of bed. He'd been more or less awake for the last hour, but had been dozing for that time. But the robot butler had just brought him fresh coffee and a fruit salad, so he really should get dressed. Once he was, he spent a little time in the cave before heading into the city. The clothes he'd planned to wear were still at the penthouse, and he wanted to impress his date. Charisma Worthington was her name; since their first rendezvous a week or so ago, they'd met for dinner a few times, as well as sex. He was, oddly enough, enjoying her company beyond the bedroom. She was funny, intelligent and not too clingy. He was really looking forward to tonight. Smirking at the thought of what Alexa would say if he told her he was actually interested in a girl—or his mother, for that matter—he finished his breakfast and took a shower. Diana had always maintained a trenchant disapproval of his many relationships with women, and part of Tom did feel guilty about it. He was as much Amazon as Alexa was, after all. It wasn't that he didn't respect women, of course he did—but so far he just hadn't fallen in love with any. Besides, he was only twenty three. Where was the rush?

Before he left the manor, he nipped upstairs to check on his sister. She was probably fine, but it had been almost twelve hours since she'd gone to bed. Having come from Pinea, it was probably a good idea to make sure she hadn't caught some kind of alien virus or something.

When he knocked softly on her bedroom door, there was no reply. He pushed it open cautiously. "Lexie?"

She was still asleep, sprawled across her pillows with her dark hair everywhere. Tom approached the edge of the bed as silently as possible, moving one lock of hair from her forehead to check her temperature. Normal. He checked her pulse too—also normal. She stirred at his touch, though she didn't open her eyes or wake up.

She smiled, turning over to her side and hugging a pillow. "Mmm, Kal … hold me …"

Eyebrows climbing to his hairline, Tom backed away and shut the door again, only then stopping to think about that. As he did, his eyebrows contracted again, into a frown. Alexa's voice had been sleepy, but perfectly clear. She had _definitely _been addressing Kal—as far as she knew, anyway. That was a little (well, more than a little) worrying, Tom thought, heading into the city. He'd known she was at least a little attracted to Kal, had been for a while. But he'd also assumed that the little school-girl crush had faded by now. And really, it had to have been a school-girl crush. There was no way it could go further. Even if Alexa did choose to – Well, be all Amazonian about it, Kal would never allow it to – He didn't think. Gods, he hoped not anyway. There was no way a physical relationship between the two of them would end well. _But maybe I'm worrying over nothing_, Tom reasoned. _Kal doesn't seem like the type. _And history was against the idea too—Diana and Bruce had always been best friends with Kal; it made sense that Alexa and Tom himself would simply serve as substitutes for their parents.

Pulling into the parking lot, Tom shook his head. "Nah. I'm being stupid," he said aloud.

* * *

It was about an hour before Kal was due to arrive that Alexa had got a crazy idea into her head. Which was, namely, to cook. And she couldn't cook. She had _never _been able to cook. At all. Toast was beyond her most days. Yet here she was, actually cutting vegetables and chicken in an attempt to make Thai food. The robo-chef had the ability to make any number of Thai dishes, and she had a Thai restaurant on speed-dial, but against all logic and sense, here she was. She _had _managed to put together a spice paste of ginger, lemongrass, garlic, chillies, galangal and lime leaves, which had been easy enough to do. Mainly because she could simply crush it to nothing with her fingers. The paste was currently in the wok, but as far as all the other ingredients went … she was failing miserably. And she had cut herself four times already. Who knew dead chicken could be such a tricky beast?

The door bell rang at eight on the dot. Which caused her to jump, which caused the knife to slip, which caused her to cut herself again. "Ow! Godsdammit …"

She went to the door and opened it, trying her best to look gorgeous. And she had made an effort, too—made sure her hair was smooth and shiny, and poker-straight today. Made sure she was wearing her best little black dress—vintage Chanel—and ruined it all with a bleeding finger. However, her attention was soon diverted; she wasn't the only one who had made an effort tonight. Kal wore dark jeans and a perfectly tailored black shirt and jacket—as well as the smile that had made her go consistently wobbly for months. She could do nothing but smile back.

"Hey."

She stopped aside to let him in. He stooped a little to kiss her—it had only been a few hours since he had last done so, but she couldn't help but respond with immediate passion. He did the same, and what had been a chaste hello-kiss turned into Kal being pressed against the door, his hands buried in her fragrant hair and mouths devouring each other. After she'd successfully forgotten how to breathe, he pulled away.

"You look beautiful."

She placed one more, feather-light kiss to his lips. "Not so bad yourself."

He paused, frowning. "Is something burning?"

Feeling a stab of panic, Alexa flew to the kitchen. "Dinner!"

On the stove, the spice paste was blackened and smouldering. Gritting her teeth against the growl of frustration that threatened to erupt, she tipped the whole lot—wok and all—into the trash.

"Alexa, are you cooking?" Kal asked, looking uncertain.

She crossed back over to the chopping board in an attempt to avoid his eyes. "Um … technically no. Technically I'm failing at – Ow!" Her sixth injury of the evening.

Kal (probably wisely) took the knife from her hand and lifted her cut finger to his mouth. It had already stopped bleeding, but it still felt better once it had been kissed better. "I thought princesses had servants for this kind of thing," he joked.

"On Themyscira we are all sisters, so no servants there, even if in this instance it would be nice," she admitted, blushing. "And no servants here to rescue me either. The robots only do what they're programmed to do."

Kal let out a deep chuckle. "You need an Alfred Pennyworth. He pretty much kept your father together. He really was the man behind the Bat."

"Yes, both Mom and Dad speak quite fondly of him. I suppose that's why we never had any human servants. No one could replace him," Alexa sighed.

"Well, I'm not unfamiliar to rescuing myself," Kal continued. "So please, allow me the pleasure, Your Highness."

She rolled her eyes. "By all means."

He lifted her hand and kissed it. "Then if I might make a suggestion … let's order takeout."

She grinned. "How did I ever live without you?"

After ordering, from the very obliging restaurant, dinner for the pair of them, Kal hung up with a smile. "Thirty to forty-five minutes."

"Hmm …" She wrapped her arms around his hips. "What could we do with forty-five minutes?"

His laugh warmed the gap between them—just before Alexa's lips closed it. He cupped her cheek, the other arm around her waist to pull her closer. The swell of her breasts pressed against his chest, and she stretched up in his arms to wrap hers around his shoulders, tilting her head in a clear invitation to deepen the kiss. He took it without much urging, one hand tangling through her dark hair as their tongues met. She shuddered with pleasure at the renewed taste of him - something she knew she'd never get tired of. She backed him slowly up, knowing the house to be empty and already too aroused too go as far as the bedroom. The hand formerly on her waist slipped upwards, tracing the line of her body to cup her breast; Alexa moaned into his mouth at the contact, arching her back to push more of the flesh into his hand while her hands moved to unzip his fly. Finding him already hard for her, she let out another moan, wrapping her hand around the hot flesh, pumping up and down. Kal pinched her nipple gently, then harder, his lips leaving hers to find her neck, nipping and licking along the column of it. With her breath coming in short sharp gasps already, all Alexa could do was shudder with pleasure. As her fingers increased their pace, Kal's hands fell to her hips and he pulled her foward, her legs on either side of his thigh. Alexandra couldn't help but rub herself against him.

"Hera... Kal, please..."

The next second he turned them, almost slamming her against the fridge door. She heard a faint ripping noise - but didn't mourn for her underwear - and then he was inside her. They both cried out at the contact, Alexa almost sobbing with the intensity of it. Goddesses above, he felt so wonderful, so perfect, so utterly made for her. In a vain effort to get him closer, feel more of him, her fingernails clawed at his shoulders, effortlessly tearing through his shirt. She didn't care. She'd bought it anyway. She bucked her hips in time to his thrusts; they drove each other higher, harder, faster. She lost all awareness of anything but Kal - the entire city could be standing in the doorway watching them and she wouldn't have noticed.

She had missed him. It had been a matter of hours...and she had missed him. But now she had him. She was made whole, and she never had to be incomplete again. Kal, groaning her name against her throat, tipped her over the edge into blinding orgasm as she felt him follow her into bliss.

Luckily, dinner took fifty minutes to be delivered.

* * *

**A/N: Review please!**


	23. Secret Valentine

**A/N: Thank you for the beta, DaisyJane! Here's chapter twenty three for your entertainment, dear readers :)  
**

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

_Nervous and shy for the moment,_

_We will come alive tonight,_

_Secret Valentine,_

_We'll write a song that turns out the lights,_

_When both boy and girl,_

_Start suddenly shaking inside,_

_Don't waste your time,_

_Speed up your breathing,_

_Just close your eyes,_

_We'll hope it's not for nothing at all._

_Secret Valentine—We The Kings_

There was too much utter bliss for anything else to feature in Alexa's life, for at least the next three weeks. She remembered being with Kal, she remembered being in the cowl patrolling Gotham, but everything in between was a sort of happy haze. It was wonderful to just be ecstatic all the time—there were no pretences to keep up, no papers to court, she didn't have to _share _him with anyone she didn't want to.

So far, it was still a secret.

Although how it was, she wasn't sure. There had been near misses, and many of them. It also hadn't helped that she knew Thomas was getting suspicious. He kept needing her help with forensics when she knew perfectly well he didn't, and she _knew _he had put training suite five out of action, _and _she knew that it was his virus she had caught diverting the video feeds from the Metrotower. It was smart, and used a lot of proxy servers so she couldn't track it because it bounced all over the world, but Alexa had been writing algorithms with her brother since they were eleven. She recognised his work when she saw it. But as she had no proof he was doing it, and no real idea what he hoped to find or not to find, all she did was shut him down each and every time.

Which meant that at eleven tonight, her date could be pulled off as planned. Not that it was technically a date. Just another sparring session. She got there a little early, and went through some limbering up. She tended to use ballet movements rather than the traditional aerobic ones, since they were just as effective, and helped to strengthen muscles and improve flexibility. Or maintain it, anyway – Alexa was already pretty flexible already. She also regularly practised yoga. She began with a basic move; sitting on the floor and stretching her legs out entirely flat, then bending over them. When her forehead was touching her shins, she stopped and held the position for at least a minute. Jazz splits were next, one leg in front of her, one behind her, and her forehead on her shin again. More followed, such as bending forward to put both palms firmly on the floor while her legs were straight, and finishing with a straddle stretch. It essentially involved finding a wall and putting her leg all the way up it, vertically.

It was in that position that Kal found her. The second she heard the doors hiss open, there were arms around her waist and a mouth at her ear. "Now why haven't you shown me _that_ one before?"

She laughed. "I was saving it for a special occasion."

He backed up a little, allowing her to turn. She did so in a pirouette, still balancing on the toes of one foot. Her other leg now rested on Kal's shoulder. "How special?"

"Tonight could count as special."

She leaned forward, kissing him deeply. "I guess it could. Of course, you have to catch me first."

He frowned. "Catch –"

She pushed into the air, hooking her knee over his shoulder and pressing down with her leg. Not expecting the surge in pressure, his knees buckled a little bit, and Alexa spun around in the air, her other foot coming around to kick him in the head. He caught her ankle before the blow connected, throwing her over his head and into a wall. She caught herself, launching off the reinforced steel with both her fists curled, aiming at Kal. His eyes glowed red; she brought her bracers up to block the laser beam he sent her way, and in that time, he moved, dodging out of the way faster than her eye could follow. So, he wanted to play hardball. Well, that was fine with her. Except then she was once again being pinned, Kal behind her. Only this time it was to the ceiling.

"Caught you."

Her breathing was uneven, but it had nothing to do with the exercise; everything to do with the feel of his body pressed against hers, the deepened timbre of his voice, the knowledge that desire was rising in him just as fast as it was in her. It would be incredibly easy right now just to give up, give in, melt into his arms and lose the rest of the night to pleasure. But just a little bit too easy. "Is that so?" she asked.

She slammed her knee into the ceiling, giving her the force needed to push them both off. Not far, but just enough to turn them into mid-air, shoot backward herself and leave a Superman-shaped impression in the metal. His hold on her loosened enough to let Alexa slip free and dive for freedom. Not quite fast enough, or she'd underestimated how much Kal wanted her. Before she'd got even halfway to the floor, he'd caught her, turned her, and had her against the ceiling again. At least she thought it was the ceiling; she had no idea right now. His proximity was making comprehensive thought or reasoning difficult. Judging by her hair falling down in a dark curtain and surrounding both their faces, it was the ceiling after all. Kal's face was less than an inch from hers, his blue eyes sparkling with a youthful intensity a hundred years younger than he was.

"What were you saying?"

Her eyes were already drifting shut as she leaned forward, mouth seeking his. He didn't deny her, meeting her lips and tongue readily. But his hands had yet to relinquish her wrists, and she was still pinned.

"Yield?" he asked when they broke apart.

She kissed his neck, drawing the tip of her tongue over his Adam's apple. "I think you know I yielded a long time ago, Kal."

They undressed one another, slowly sinking to the floor without noticing the descent. The cold metal went unnoticed as Alexa straddled him, leaning down to spread hot kisses all over his chest before she sank slowly onto him. The connection was as deep as it had been the first time, as fulfilling and natural, causing both of them to moan. The cameras had been turned off, the microphones muted. No one could get in. No one could intrude on this. They had all the time in the world, and they took it, Alexa's body rising, being driven, to many climaxes before she was allowed to return the pleasure given to her.

It was after two by the time Batwoman went out to patrol Gotham, but she did so with a smile on her face even then.

* * *

"Lexie," Tom asked at breakfast the next day, "why is there a dent in the fridge?"

It probably wasn't ladylike or the best way to convince him of her innocence, but Alexa choked on her coffee anyway. And then spent the next twenty seconds coughing it back up. Tom hit her on the back a couple of times, but she waved him away as the coughing fit ended.

"Sorry," she wheezed. "Went down the wrong way."

"Happens."

"You think there's a dent?" she asked, feeling it would be more obvious if she ignored his question completely. "Thought I got that out," she added, as casually as she could manage.

"_You _put a dent in the fridge?"

Best way to lie: tell some of the truth. She knew exactly how the dent had been put in the fridge, and it had been her. Her back. Being repeatedly pushed against it. Not with any great force, just with more than a fridge was designed to take. When she'd noticed—after Kal had left the following morning—she had popped the dent back out. Apparently not very successfully.

"Yeah. I kicked it."

"Why?"

"I was frustrated."

"With the fridge?"

"With dinner. They got my order wrong."

"Oh."

He looked at her strangely for a couple more seconds, and then went back to his breakfast. Alexa breathed and inward sigh of relief. Tommy would have to know; of course he would, but not yet. She wasn't ready to share Kal yet. Feeling it was safe to change the subject, she said, "So what are your plans for today?"

"Board meeting," Tom replied. "There's a new contract Anderson and his cronies want us to take on."

"Defence?"

"Yeah. They keep talking about how much money we'll be handing to our competition if we keep turning down business from the military. But it's not in the company's best interests. It would damage our interests globally. I just have to convince them of that."

"You will," she smiled.

"Hope so. What about you? What are you doing?"

"Opening of the new refuge."

"Oh yeah, I forgot. Did it all go through in the end?"

"Miraculously the correct paperwork had been filed after all."

He grinned. "Miraculous. Wonder how they could have missed that the first time."

"Human error, I'm sure," she replied slyly. "And after that I have dinner plans."

He nodded, and didn't inquire who she had dinner plans with.

In the end, dinner didn't get eaten until well after ten p.m., anyway. She and Kal got as far nibbles, and a glass of wine each, and then their bodies took over and they'd ended up (very happily) in bed again.

"It's my birthday tomorrow."

"I know," he smiled, without opening his eyes. "My place? I can't beat your coffee, but I can mange dinner for two."

"I'd love to," she sighed. "But there's a party planned. Over-planned in fact. With about two hundred guests."

There was the unspoken question between them, but they both knew it was too early. Not that he had any doubt of being at her twenty-fifth birthday party, but for now … this was too precious to share with the rest of the world. Especially a world that wouldn't understand.

"The day after then," he said comfortably.

"Sounds good. I'm assuming you actually can cook?"

"Better than some people I know," he said teasingly.

She'd moved past blushing when that disastrous evening was mentioned, but she was able to laugh about it now. "To be fair, Kal, an amoeba could probably cook better than I can."

"Don't be so hard on yourself. A copepod at least."

She narrowed her eyes at him briefly. "I thought you were supposed to be the nice one of the Justice League."

"No. I'm supposed to be the truthful one," he grinned.

"I thought that was my mother," she snapped back.

"Well somebody has to pick up the slack now she's gone," he laughed.

She hit him with a pillow. Feathers exploded into the air.

* * *

This party was boring, Alexa decided. They all had been of course; since she had Tom had departed Isla Wayne to take up their father's mantle. Too few people she could invite. The location was always fabulous, the food gourmet, the wine both expensive and flowing—but the guest-list was rather lacklustre. Tonight, for instance, as she looked around, she could see three Oscar winners, five Grammy winners, several actors of the stage and small screen and uncounted numbers of the glitterati. Plus the board members of Wayne Enterprises and a few scattered members of her extended family. The only public member of the League was Mira. No friends at all really. No Barda. Her parents were missing. But Alexa knew the real reason she couldn't even pretend to have fun: Kal.

Their twenty-fifth birthday would be different, Alexa decided. Tommy could have the massive party if he wanted. She'd be much happier with a small dinner. Family, close friends, and _him_. There were Michelin-starred restaurants she knew would close for her, after all, and if identities and publicity were issues, the waiters could just wear blindfolds. Although that could lead to a few spill-

As if the gods—Dionysus in particular—could hear and were laughing at her thoughts, one of the guests (Thomas' date, if she wasn't mistaken) stumbled on her absurdly high heels and up-ended her glass of red wine all over Alexa. Specifically, all over her $6,500 white silk Versace dress, specially bought for the occasion. There was an almost comical collective gasp, and then Charisma Worthington's babbling started.

"Oh my _God_! Alexa, I am so, so sorry! These stupid shoes, I knew they were too high! I cant' believe I-" she grabbed a towel from a waiter who was hastening forwards, and started patting Alexa dry. "I promise I'll pay for the dry cleaning, I-"

Alexa grasped her hands, stilling them. "I think it's a little beyond dry cleaning, Charisma." Mindful of the fact that her brother _liked _this klutz, she kept her voice neutral. "But don't worry about it. It's only money right? Besides, it's not as if I'd be wearing it again."

Charisma blinked and returned Alexa's smile nervously. "A-are you sure?"

"Of course I am. I'll go home and change and you return to the party. Enjoy yourself."

Before Charisma could answer, she air-kissed the blonde twice on each cheek and made her way out of the hotel. Really, Charisma had done her a favour. This way she could start the evening anew, a little ahead of schedule. The Rolls and the driver were waiting for her when she exited the building. He did not bat an eyelid or comment on the state of her dress. "Ready to go, Miss Wayne?"

"Thank you, Wilcox, but I think you might be needed for Tommy later. I'll take a cab."

"Let me get that for you, ma'am," one of the doormen said. He gave a piercing whistle, hailing a cab for her, and then held open the door. "Good evening, Miss."

She tipped him a twenty, then got into the cab. "Wayne Manor, please."

The cabbie was either naturally taciturn or too in-awe of her to speak much, thankfully. Alexa was mentally sifting through her wardrobe. There was one dress she'd bought with Kal in mind, and now seemed like a perfect time to wear it. When they pulled up outside the manor, she asked the cabbie to wait while she got changed. While she did so, she asked the robo-butler to bring up a bottle of vintage champagne from the cellar. She smirked at she pulled the dress from her closet, imagining the look on Kal's face. It was made up of hundreds of sewn-together crystals, gold in colour that glittered when she so much as breathed. The sleeves were long, but it only reached to about mid-thigh, and aside from a string to pull the high neckline together, left her back completely bare. She pulled on a pair of strappy gold stilettos and twirled in front of the mirror for a moment, taking in the effect. _Oh yes. That will do nicely. _

Aware of how long she'd kept the cab waiting, she flew back downstairs and grabbed the champagne. She didn't think Tommy would be coming back to the manor tonight, so her absence wouldn't be missed.

"Where to?" the cabbie asked.

"Riverside Apartments."

"Don't think I know that one."

"It's in Metropolis."

"_Metropolis_? Listen, I'm sure you have some important -" He shut his mouth as Alexa thrust a gold card at him, he checked the credits on it and started driving.

She smiled sweetly. "I appreciate it's out of your way, but it really _is _important. And if you can get there in less than ninety minutes your tip will be double that."

Unsurprisingly, eighty minutes later they were pulling up outside Kal's apartment building. Alexa delivered the promised payment and stepped out of the cab. She could have flown, of course, but for once she'd felt like being a normal girl, surprising her boyfriend. Not that that word was at all applicable to Kal. But still, she couldn't make the grin go away, or the frisson of excitement dissipate. Finally—it was her birthday, and she was getting something she wanted for once. She keyed Kal's apartment number into the intercom and waited.

He answered a moment later, sounding puzzled. "Hello?"

"It's me."

He recognised her voice instantly, and his tone changed from puzzled to warm. "Come up."

The effect was exactly as hoped. When she knocked on his door, Kal's jaw dropped a pleasing inch or two, and his blue eyes widened. Alexa just grinned and let him take her all in. She knew she looked like sex on legs. "Hi."

"Wow. I mean, hi back. But … wow."

She laughed. "What, you like this old thing? I just pulled it out of the back of the closet …"

He cleared his throat. "It's, uh, okay. I guess. Won't you come in, Alexa?"

She did so, and handed him the bottle. He used the movement to hook an arm around her waist and pulled her in for a kiss. "Happy birthday, by the way."

"Thank you. I'm sorry the champagne's going to be a little warm, but –"

He was already taking swift care of that problem, freeze-blowing the glass until it frosted. "Done."

She grinned with a fond little shake of her head. "Saving me from King Kong, saving me from the perils of warm champagne … my hero," she added with an affectedly winsome sigh.

* * *

**A/N: Review please!**


	24. Blackbird

_Warm as the sun,_

_You were the one who outshone me,_

_In the darkness everyone went away,_

_You were the one who adored me,_

_And it's so hard to say goodbye to you,_

_So hard when I want to carry you everywhere,_

_Everywhere, so I don't forget,_

_I'll carry you everywhere, _

_Everywhere, so I don't forget._

_But there's a blackbird singing,_

_How long have you been hiding?_

Blackbird—Rumer

**Chapter Twenty Four**

The dual sensation of being watched and hearing thunder woke Alexa. She hadn't been aware of falling asleep after their lovemaking, but her eyelids felt heavy now as she pushed them open. "Sorry."

"No need to apologise," Kal whispered, gathering her against him. "Go back to sleep."

"Can't now," she smiled. "I know I'm being watched."

"Ah, so your bat-essence is tingling."

She nodded. "Wouldn't be if you went to sleep as well."

"Can't," he echoed. "Not sleepy."

"You never are." Another crash of thunder, and she lifted her head to look out of the window. "Is it raining?"

"Just started."

She got out of bed and left the bedroom, wrapping herself in a robe as she did so. She saw Kal give her a curious look and follow as she crossed to the balcony and pushed back the doors. "I like thunderstorms," she said in explanation. "On Themyscira, we had such grand thunderstorms, sometimes it was like Zeus himself was putting on a show for us."

"I can imagine," Kal replied, smiling at her. After a moment of watching her, he stretched and asked, "Would you like some coffee?"

She nodded absently, her attention still on the storm outside. Struck by a sudden urge to feel the rain against her skin, she undid the belt of her robe and let it fall, leaving her nude as she stepped out onto the balcony. The rain here was cold, not like on Themyscira, but the lightning was the same, and the thunder still thrilled her, and it still made her body tingle from head to toe. Within moments, she was dripping wet. She heard Kal leave the kitchen, the living room door opened and – then there was a strange, strangled sort of noise.

Frowning, she turned to see it was actually coming from her lover – he'd been eating something, but apparently the sight of her naked and wet in the view of the whole city had made him choke. Almost an impossibility in itself; she had never even entertained the thought that he might be able to. But maybe now wasn't the best time to be wondering, or laughing, even though the sight was mildly hilarious. She moved quickly behind him and delivered a blow to his back, hard as she could. Kal pitched forwards, but managed to stop himself from going through a wall, and the object lodged in his throat rocketed through the window, too fast for her to see it.

"Are you alright?"

Kal nodded, coughing a bit. "Thanks."

"What was that?"

"Cherry pit."

This time, she did dissolve into fits of laughter. "Just imagine it—the Man of Steel dispatched by a humble cherry pit," she laughed, popping one of the small fruits into her mouth. "It's an original method to achieve world domination, you have to admit that."

Still red-faced, Kal had to grin. "In my defence, you were naked where all of Metropolis could see you."

"It's three in the morning. I'm sure most of them are asleep."

"Well, don't blame me if that's on the news tomorrow."

"Would that bother you?" she asked seriously.

He picked up the still-dry robe and wrapped it around her before he replied. "I'm not that happy with all of America seeing you like that, if that's what you mean, but if you mean the relationship … I don't know. Are we ready for that?"

"Not yet," she said evenly. "And it would be unfair for the people we care about to find out via the press."

But even the people they cared about – friends, family, most obviously Bruce and Diana – would still have to wait, for tonight at least. Alexa would tell them soon, she would; she had to. She had never hidden anything from her mother before Kal had appeared, and now she'd been keeping a secret for what seemed like months. Well, it _had _been months. The delicious secret was beginning to tickle the edges of her mind, making her feel guilty at the oddest of times.

Alexa watched the rest of the storm without going back outside. She might have liked to fly in it – and maybe the two of them would, one day – but watching it from Kal's arms, with a cup of hot Arabian coffee in her hand didn't seem like a bad alternative. It was only as she went to get dressed that she realised there was a problem. Not good. Oh this was not good at all. This was the second sartorial disaster to befall Alexa in less than twenty-four hours. Less than _two_. She held up the tattered cloth, grimacing. "I take it you didn't approve of the dress?" she asked, wandering into the bathroom.

Kal was in the shower, and frowning at her now. "Why would you think that?"

In answer, she held up the gold sparkly dress. It was in two distinct pieces. "There are Swarovski crystals all over your living room floor."

"You can't tell me that wasn't the _point _of that dress, Alexa," he replied, a mischievous glint in his blue eyes.

"Hmm, I suppose it was..."

"But I _did _like the dress."

"Yeah? How much?" she asked, stepping into the shower herself. "Care to show me?"

The hot water running over her skin was a delicious contrast to the cool tiles, but Kal was warmer still as he touched her. Alexa was more than ready to burn with him, her lips meeting his passionately. Goddess, would she never get enough of the taste of him? Or the feel of his hands sliding up her back as they pressed her closer. Or the exquisite fullness when he sheathed himself inside her. Their earlier lovemaking had been more rushed, full of the urgent giddiness that champagne and it being her birthday had brought. This was tender, slow, and full of each other and nothing else. Alexa's climax came in waves—hardly gentle, but just as inevitable and cleansing as the sea.

She stayed all night, and put a call in to her assistant in the morning to drop off some clothes. Amelia had been long-used to the eccentric manners of both Alexa and Thomas, and she rarely assumed anything, and never asked questions. She also gave Alexa some car keys.

"The Audi is parked on the street outside."

"Thanks, Amelia. What would I do without you?"

Amelia gave her professional smile and left without coming in to the apartment and without expressing any curiosity about its owner. So what if her employer was in a new relationship? It certainly wasn't worth her job to gossip about it.

Once she had gone, Kal came out of the bedroom, where he'd been dressing. "Will you stay for breakfast?"

She nodded, feeling ravenous. Once she was dressed, they ate together: nothing beyond toast and a glass of orange juice, but honestly Alexa couldn't remember ever sharing this meal with anyone but her family. Much less someone she'd spent the night with. It was very domestic – but it felt right. It had promise for the future.

After breakfast, she sat on the couch, leaning forward to tie the laces of her sneakers when something caught her eye. A photograph, lying underneath the holo-TV stand. It would have gone overlooked unless someone was at her angle or if Kal had actually used x-ray vision to spot it.

Finishing with her sneakers, she made her way to pick it up. Unfortunately, he got there first; there was a breeze which blew her hair back briefly, and the object was in his hand. "What is that?"

He snatched the photo up with a light smile and a tight shrug. "Nothing. I should put this away. Don't want to clutter up the apartment."

"Kal?"

"It's just an old photograph."

"Oh. Of what?"

She felt nothing but innocent curiosity; but it was replaced by suspicion quickly. His entire demeanour was that of someone hiding something – his shoulders were rounded, his head down, and he looked incredibly awkward.

"Nothing, doesn't matter," he said.

It clearly did matter though. And Alexa had a sinking feeling she knew exactly why. "It's of Lois, isn't it?"

"It's not important."

She watched in silence as he put it into a drawer in the kitchen, only then standing and steeling herself for what was going to be an unpleasant confrontation. But one that needed to be attempted.

"Which of us are you hiding the other from?"

"What?"

"Either you're hiding her from me, out of misplaced guilt or uncertainty over whether I'm really as content with it as I make out – or you're hiding me, and all I represent, from the memory of her. Either way, Kal, that's guilt you've got no reason for carrying."

"Alexa …"

"Is it that you don't want me here?"

He turned, blue eyes wide. "Of course not!"

"Then you need to stop it, before it becomes a pattern. You need to cut it out now."

"I can't just –"

"It never bothered me before we were together, why would it bother me now?"

"We weren't together before!"

"And? Kal, if we're going to do this, if we're going to last, then you have to stop thinking you'll upset me every time Lois is mentioned. I know I'm not your first love, and that doesn't matter to me."

"Well maybe it matters to me!" he snapped. "I can know that she'd want me to be happy, say it until I'm blue in the face, but forgive me if it takes time to stop feeling guilty!"

"No! If you're still feeling guilty then you obviously don't want to have this. I want to be with you, Kal, and I want Lois to be a part of my life as well as yours, but I _cannot_ compete with a dead woman for your affections. And I won't."

With that, she took off, telling herself that it was for the best that he didn't follow her. All guardians of Gotham seemed to go through their own version of heartbreak at some point. That she was getting hers at the age of twenty-four meant she'd lasted longer than most of the various bats. Now she was free to spend the rest of her very long life as she wished, completely free. And alone. She was incredibly glad when Tommy wasn't at the manor. She had a lot of not crying to do. A lot of steeling herself for Thomas to come home full of the joys of spring. Of course, _he _had a girlfriend who was not emotionally two-timing him.

"Goddesses, that isn't fair," she rebuked herself. Kal wasn't her 'boyfriend', and what he was emotionally involved in was grief—or at least uncertainty over where his grief left him, and her too. Maybe she could have dealt with misplaced fear that she would react badly to Lois' photograph … but still more guilt? What could she say to that? What could she do with that?

Except say what she had said. And do what she had done.

She went down to the cave, and its cool shrine, and prayed. She asked the goddesses if she had done the right thing. She pleaded with Athena to let reason overrule her passions. She begged Aphrodite to help her in any way the goddess saw fit. They all remained silent, without even an emotional response. So she fell back on logic. And logic provided all the merciless answers the goddesses had been mute on. She had been right to break it off with Kal, if that was what she had done. _He _had been wrong—was still wrong—to think Lois had any stake in this. Her absence should have no bearing on them. If he could accept that she was nothing but joyful memories, then fine, but he clearly could not. When Alexa finally did cry, they were two bitterest tears at her defeat. Not at losing, but at losing the prize. It wasn't _fair_, at its core. Alexa, with all her strength, was powerless against a mere ghost. Kal had to win this battle for both of them. And she wasn't even sure he was fighting. Or even wanted to…

* * *

**A/N: Review please!**


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